Electronic item management and archival system and method of operating the same

ABSTRACT

An electronic item management and archival system for managing and archiving items. Each item includes at least one of image data, audio data, and video data. The system includes a server configured to receive items, archive at least one of the received items to an archive, and retrieve at least one of the archived items from the archive. In some embodiments, the server also includes architecture that supports a pool of threads promoting multiple, independent archive and retrieve operations concurrently.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an electronic item management and archivalsystem.

Individuals, businesses, government agencies, and other institutions ofall types issue checks and similar financial documents to make paymentsin the United States and internationally. There is a well-defined andwell-known process within the banking system that supports checks as apayment mechanism. Included within this process is the practice ofimaging checks and performing document management on the imaged checks.Example document management processes include archiving and storing theimaged checks. After the checks are archived and stored, later documentmanagement processes can include querying the archive and retrievingstored documents from the archive.

Similarly, there are countless numbers of other industries that requirearchiving, storing, querying, and retrieving of images, audiorecordings, or video recordings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides an electronic item management and archival systemfor managing and archiving items. Each item includes at least one ofimage data, audio data, and video data. The system includes anitem-generation device configured to provide items and a server incommunication with the item-generation device. The server is configuredto receive the items from the item-generation device, archive at leastone of the received items to an archive, and retrieve at least one ofthe archived items from the archive. In some embodiments, the serverincludes architecture that supports a pool of threads promotingmultiple, independent archive and retrieve operations concurrently. Someembodiments of the invention can further include a storage device incommunication with the server. The storage device is configured toreceive the archived items from the server and store the received items.

The invention also provides a host machine for an electronic itemmanagement and archival system. The host machine includes acommunications endpoint that receives items, a processor connected tothe communications endpoint, and software executable by the processor.In some embodiments, the software includes instructions that create oneor more virtual servers. The one or more virtual servers include atleast one server that facilitates independent and concurrentcommunication between multiple Common Object Request Broker Architecture(CORBA) applications and at least one server that creates and manages anarchive.

The invention further provides a method of managing an archive havingitems. Each item including a virtual object and query data associatedwith the virtual object. Each virtual object is selected from the groupconsisting of image data, audio data, and video data. The methodincludes providing a plurality of items, archiving at least one of theprovided items to an archive, querying the archive, retrieving at leastone of the archived items from the archive, and repeating one or more ofthe providing, archiving, querying, and retrieving acts. In someembodiments, the method also includes structuring a bus that allows twoor more of the providing, archiving, querying, retrieving, and repeatingacts to occur concurrently.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an Electronic Item Management andArchival (EIMA) system incorporating one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a workstation.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a distributive archive.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the interaction of repositories ina distributed network.

FIG. 5 is a screen print of the Main Menu of the Host Server.

FIG. 6 is a screen print of the Application Server Termination ProgramMenu.

FIG. 7 is a screen print of the File Management & Utilities Menu.

FIG. 8 is a screen print of the Match Menu.

FIG. 9 is a screen print of an example MCF File List.

FIG. 10 is a screen print of the Delete Cycle Menu.

FIG. 11 is a screen print of a sample Audit Report.

FIG. 12 is a screen print of the Select Services Menu.

FIG. 13 is a partial screen print of the System Administration MainScreen.

FIG. 14 is a partial screen print of the User Information card.

FIG. 15 is a partial screen print of the Print User List dialog box.

FIG. 16 is a partial screen print of the Groups card.

FIG. 17 is a partial screen print of the Group Control card.

FIG. 18 is a partial screen print of the Group List card.

FIG. 19 is a partial screen print of the Query Filter List card.

FIG. 20 is a partial screen print of the Filter Information card.

FIG. 21 is a partial screen print of the Filter Conditions card.

FIG. 22 is a partial screen print of the Decision Control Calendar.

FIG. 23 is a partial screen print of the Decision Window List.

FIG. 24 is a partial screen print of the Decision Window Informationcard.

FIG. 25 is a partial screen print of the Widow Conditions card.

FIG. 26 is a screen print of the Batch Selection window.

FIG. 27 is a screen print of the View Image window.

FIG. 28 is a screen print of the Options Dialog window.

FIG. 29 is a screen print of the Magnifying Glass tab of the OptionsDialog window.

FIG. 30 is a screen print of the Image tab of the Option Dialog window.

FIG. 31 is a partial screen print of a Right Click menu for the ViewImage window.

FIG. 32 is a screen print of the EIMA system home page.

FIG. 33 is a screen print of the Query screen.

FIG. 34 is a screen print of the Open Query Dialog box.

FIGS. 35-37 are partial screen prints of example advance queries.

FIG. 38 is a screen print having the Query Set text box.

FIG. 39 is a screen print of the Result screen.

FIG. 40 is a screen print of the Result screen menu.

FIG. 41 is a screen print of the Print Setup window.

FIG. 42 is a screen print of the Image screen.

FIG. 43 is a screen print of the Import Process screen.

FIG. 44 is a screen print of the Query Parameters screen.

FIG. 45 is a screen print of the Query Viewer screen.

FIG. 46 is a screen print of the Maintenance screen.

FIG. 47 is a screen print of the Reports window of the Maintenancescreen.

FIG. 48 is a screen print of an example Report.

FIG. 49 is a block diagram representing a method of operation for sealverification.

FIG. 50 is a schematic diagram representing the interaction between theCORBA BUS and the archive.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention is not limited in its application to the details ofconstruction and the arrangement of components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the following drawings. Theinvention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or ofbeing carried out in various ways. Also, the phraseology and terminologyused herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regardedas limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” andvariations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listedthereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Theterms “connected,” “coupled,” and “mounted” are used broadly andencompass both direct and indirect connections, couplings, andmountings. In addition, the terms “connected” and “coupled” are notrestricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings. As usedherein the terms “machine,” “computer,” and “server” are not limited toa device with a single processor, but may encompass multiple devices(e.g., computers) linked in a system, devices with multiple processors,special purpose devices, devices with various peripherals and input andoutput devices, software acting as a computer or server, andcombinations of the above.

FIG. 1 schematically shows an Electronic Item Management and Archival(EIMA) system 100 incorporating one embodiment of the invention. For theembodiment shown and described herein, the EIMA system 100 is based onan open architecture that accepts any type of image, video, or audiodata from anywhere; stores, recomposes and/or reformats the image,video, or audio data; and outputs the recomposed or reformatted image,video and/or audio data. For example, the EIMA system 100 can reformatprint-stream data for use on the Web, via e-mail, or via fax. The openarchitecture provides the ability to accommodate new and more efficienttechnologies while still maintaining the functionality of previoussystems.

As used herein, the term “image” data refers to data (or a file havingdata) that represents an image of a physical object. For example, thephysical object can be a document (e.g., a financial document) and the“image” is data representing an image of the object. For anotherexample, the physical object can be a form having entered informationand the “image” is data representing the completed form. Exampleoriginal documents include checks (e.g., for a demand deposit account(DDA)), signature cards, driver's licenses, photographs, applications(e.g., loan applications), reports, and other related documents. Theterm “video” data refers to data (or a file having data) that representsa plurality of images. The term “audio” data refers to data (or a filehaving data) that represents one or more sounds. The original image,plurality of images, or sound(s) are referred to as an “actual” object,and the item includes a “virtual” object representing the actual object.

Unless specified otherwise, the term “image” is used below to include“image” data, “video” data, or “audio” data representing an object. Forsimplifying the description below and unless specified otherwise, theEIMA system 100 is described in connection with check processing and theimage is an image (front or back) of the check. However, the inventionis not limited to check processing, and a claim should not be limited tocheck processing unless check processing is specifically recited withinthe claim.

Further, while an EIMA system 100 is described in detail below, not allaspects of the system are required in all embodiments. Rather, someembodiments include only some of the components and/or perform only someof the operations described below. Additionally, other embodiments caninclude additional components and/or include additional operations thatare not disclosed below but nonetheless can be incorporated with theEIMA system 100.

I. EIMA System

As shown in FIG. 1, one embodiment of the invention comprises the EIMAsystem 100 that includes one or more item-input devices 105, one or morehost servers 110, one or more workstation computers 115, and one or moreperipheral devices 120. Each of these elements is described below.

A. Item-input Device

In general, the item-input device 105 provides information regarding aplurality of images (e.g., checks) to the host server 110. As usedherein, the term “information” is broadly construed to comprise imagesand data relating to or obtained from the images. For example, if theprovided information relates to checks, then the information may includethe front and back images of each check and data (e.g., MICR dataobtained from the check) obtained from each check. The image(s) and datafor one document form an item. Example item-input devices (also referredto as item-generation devices) include scanners, check transports, videogeneration devices having a camera or similar component, soundgeneration devices having a microphone or similar component, and datafeeds for receiving data from other devices (e.g., web feeds from otherdevices or feeds that receive previously stored data including items).

The item-input device 105 includes a controller 125 configured tocontrol the input device 105 and/or to receive input data. Thecontroller is configured to provide one or more “threads” 130 of data.Additionally, although only one item-input device is shown in FIG. 1,the EIMA system 100 can include multiple item-input devices 105 (asecond is shown in phantom) providing multiple “threads” of informationto one or more host servers 110 via a network connection 135. However,unless specified otherwise, the description below is for a system 100having only one item-input device, and is specifically a check scanner.

1. Example Item-input Device

In one embodiment, the item-input device 105 includes a NCR 7780 scannerhaving multiple scanning components. The scanner scans financialdocuments (e.g., checks) and obtains related financial data from thedocument in a well-known manner. For example, the related financial datacan include magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) information(account numbers, check numbers and related data, depending on specificsof the documents recorded, and the institution requirements), opticalcharacter recognition OCR information, and similar information. Theresulting images can be in any format (e.g., jpeg, .tif, .bit, etc.).

The item-input device 110 also includes a controller 125 that, amongother things, communicates with the scanner (e.g., via a LAN) to receiveinformation from the scanner and to communicate the information to othercomponents (e.g., to the host server 110). Example controllers include acomputer (e.g., a PC) having software executed by the computer toconfigure the computer, a specially designed electronic device havingprogrammable logic executed by the electronic device to configure thedevice, or application specific or special purpose circuits.

The item-input device 110 also has a sorter (e.g., a hard-wired sorteror a virtual sorter), which may be part of the scanner or thecontroller. The sorter includes a rule-based engine having rules thatcontrol the flow of the resulting scanned images and related data. Thatis, checks are provided to the scanner in a commingled relationship, thescanner scans the checks to create one or more images, the scannerobtains data relating to the checks, and the rule-based engine performsfront-end processing on the checks to sort the checks. For a simpleexample, the rule-based engine may specify that a check having transitnumber “A” be provided on thread A and a check having transit number “B”be provided on thread B. The rule-based engine can include any number ofrules to sort the checks. For other embodiments, the rule-based enginecan include rules based on different image (or video or audio) items(e.g., different types of checks, different types of financialdocuments, etc.). In yet other embodiments, the host server 110 caninclude the virtual sorter.

The controller 125 further includes one or more connections (e.g., anEthernet connection) that connect the scanner to the host server 110.The connection between the controller 125 and the host server 110 can bea direct connection or an indirect connection (e.g., via a network suchas an intranet or the Internet).

As will be discussed further below, information travels throughout thesystem 100 using “threads.” Each thread 130 contains information (e.g.,a plurality of items) having one or more similar characteristics.Because of the similar characteristics, the same operations areperformed on the information contained in a thread 130. For example, theinformation can be routed to a specific host server 110 or a specificstorage device (discussed below). As will become more apparent below,the concept of utilizing multiple threads (and consequently performingmultiple processes) can be utilized throughout the whole system 100.

B. Host Server

The EIMA system 100 includes a host server 110 that runs software. Asused herein the term software is broadly construed to include computerprograms, procedures, modules, data, etc. executable by one or moreprocessors. The software includes software modules (also referred toherein as applications) that are executed by the host server to performone or more processes or supporting functions. Some of the softwaremodules result in the host server having “virtual” servers. The hostserver 110 is a Hewlett Packard V-Series server in one embodiment of theinvention.

In some embodiments, the host server 110 receives information, includingimages and related data, from the item-input device 105; processes theinformation; archives the information; receives instructions or requestsfrom the workstation 115; performs operations based on the receivedinstructions or requests; and communicates information to theworkstation 115 or to the one or more peripheral devices 120. An exampleof such a server is the Titan 4.0 server offered by ImageSoftTechnologies of Maitland, Fla.

For the EIMA system shown, the host computer includes the servers listedin TABLE 1. It should be noted that not all of the servers describedbelow are required for all embodiments and the EIMA system 100 caninclude additional servers not described below. The titles of theservers and the division of the functions of the servers are forexplanatory purposes only. One or more functions performed by the one ofthe servers may be combined with other servers.

TABLE 1 SERVER NAME DESCRIPTION CORBA Name Server Responsible forfacilitating communication between the different CORBA applications, andfor handling server registrations and requests. Bus Administrator ServerResponsible for providing application functionality and services (e.g.,print, export, repair, import, etc.). Parameter Server Provides acentral location for storing parameters that are used to control theoperation of services and applications on the bus. Its primary role isto store parameters and track their modification. Log Server Responsiblefor logging events and storing messages that are related to bus archiveoperations. Set Server Responsible for maintaining the sets of data inthe archive and the definition of document types. Index ServerResponsible for providing database functionality for storage andretrieval of query data that is associated with objects stored inrepositories. Proxy Index Server Coordinates and organizes traffic tothe index servers. Remote Distribution Server Handles the print and faxcapabilities of Export. This server allows users to remotely log in andrequest a print or fax job. Disk Repository Server Responsible for datamining and retrieval of objects stored on disk. Optical AdministrationServer Responsible for importing and exporting cartridges from theoptical jukebox. Optical Robotics Server Responsible for running opticalservices. Optical Repository Server Responsible for storage andretrieval of objects stored on an optical storage device. TapeRepository Server Responsible for storage and retrieval of objectsstored on tape. Repository Proxy Server Responsible for storage andretrieval of objects stored on RAID, optical, and tape. Access ServerManages user definitions and security permissions for those users. Allaccess from the Web server interface is funneled through the AccessServer. The Access Server is the portal through which clientapplications are delivered through a graphical user interface (GUI) tothe end user. The Access Server is an application on the CORBA bus.Generic Import Server Responsible for the import of data and imagesduring an Image Capture session. Repair Server Responsible for RepairGUI. Export Server Runs Reconciled Export.

TABLE 1A SERVICE DESCRIPTION Bus Service At the service and applicationslevel, the Bus Service is responsible for coordination of the entirearchive. It coordinates the access that applications need with theservices provided by the Bus Services. Bus The Bus Applications servicecontrols communication of Applications the applications that provideapplication functionality Service and use of these services on the busarchive. Repository Storage and retrieval of objects (images), i.e.,RAID, Service Optical and Tape, is the responsibility of the RepositoryService. However, the Repository Service is not limited to thesefunctions. Indexing Provides the database functionality for storage andService retrieval of query data that is associated with objects storedin the Repository Services. Set Service Maintains the sets of data inthe archive and the definition of document type (classes). ParameterStores parameters and tracks their modification. Service Parameters arestored in tables (e.g., Sybase tables). The Parameter Service controlsthe operation of services that need to reference these parameters. LogService The Log Service provides a centralized method and location forlogging events, and storing messages related to the operation of the busarchive. The messages are stored in tables (e.g., Sybase tables).Redundancy/ Coordination between archives that have parts of theirReplication data replicated at one or more locations is the function ofService the Redundancy/Replication Service.

the servers provide, among other things, the following services:

1. “CORBA” Bus

Among other things, in some embodiments the servers provide amultiple-threaded bus that allows multiple lines of communication tooccur between modules of the system. For the embodiment describedherein, the bus is based on a CORBA architecture. Other architecturescan also be used without departing from the invention.

In general, the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (“CORBA”) is astandard created by the Object Management Group (“OMG”) that enablesoperation between different computers, operating systems, andprogramming languages (e.g., distributive computing). The CORBA standardgenerally specifies how client applications may invoke requests onserver objects. CORBA specifies the Object Request Broker (“ORB”) thatallows applications to communicate with one another regardless of wherethe applications reside on a network. Using a standard InternetInter-ORB Protocol (“IIOP”), a CORBA-based program from a vendor, onalmost any computer, operating system, programming language, andnetwork, may communicate with a CORBA-based program from the same oranother vendor, on almost any other computer, operating system,programming language, and network. The IIOP specifies how ORBscommunicate over networks and can utilize TCP/IP implementation of aGeneral Inter-ORB Protocol (“GIOP”). The GIOP defines aspects of ORBcommunication including how messages are sent, how bytes are ordered,and how parameters are arranged for remote object invocations.

Creation of a distributed computing system based on the CORBA standardcan generally begin with an outline of desired functionality andtranslation of the design into software objects. The objects areexpressed in terms of Interface Definition Language (“IDL”) interfacesand collected into related modules. In one embodiment of the invention,the IDL is utilized for creation of Application Programming Interface(“API”) definitions that define how the client and host server systemscommunicate. One or more IDL files are compiled to generate stub codeand skeleton code. The stub code becomes the interface that clientapplications use to initiate an operation from a server and isprogramming language independent. The skeleton code provides theinterface to object implementations that the host and/or virtual serversmay provide. Libraries provided through the IDL compilation provide themechanism for communication between client and host server processes.The CORBA specification ensures that this communication be platform andlanguage independent. Host and/or virtual server applications arecreated for publishing the object references by name through a namingservice and, upon the request of a client application, a reference to ageneric CORBA object is returned. This object reference is then narrowedto the stub representation of the remote CORBA object. The client canthen invoke operations through the stub reference as if the object waslocal to the client. Requested operations from the client applicationare sent to the skeleton reference obtained through the naming service.Using the ORB, CORBA IDL stubs and skeletons serve as a connectionbetween client and server application threads. In addition, each clientand server can have threading definitions defined in a Portable ObjectAdapter (POA), which controls the communication to a CORBA Object byassociating the object with the ORB. Each POA service may use singlethreaded or multiple-threaded communication protocols and themultiple-threaded protocols may be further defined as “pools” of threadsor as a thread per client. The machine independence of the CORBAstandard, as utilized by embodiments of the invention, allows formultiple processes to communicate across machines, platforms, andlanguages, thereby providing a distributed computing environment.

In another embodiment, the CORBA communication protocols are utilized toabstract client and server interactions. Using the IDL, APIs are createdthat separate the architecture logic. Therefore, the CORBA communicationlayer acts to “hide” or “mask” the host and virtual servers from theclient or business logic. Each server process in the EIMA system 100 canbe defined to utilize the multiple-threaded “pools” of threads, therebyallowing non-blocking calls to be handled from a large number of clientapplications. Each client application can be handled independently and,therefore, do not block each other during communication with theservers. The name service and event service, defined by the CORBAspecification, are used to handle name lookups for services and eventrouting or channeling. In addition, a host or virtual server may executemultiple Generic-Input Applications (“GIAs”), statement prints, andexports at the same time, all of which may execute independent of eachother and interact separately with an archive or database.Implementation of the CORBA bus in this embodiment also includesproviding object services for use by multiple distributed objectprograms. These services include domain-independent interfaces such asthe naming service, a trading service, a repository service, an indexingservice, a set service, a parameter service, a log service, anapplication service, and a redundancy/replication service. The servicesare available to CORBA objects and a client may initiate multipleservices if desired. For example, a client application may invokemultiple services when interfacing data with input/output (“I/O”)devices. Alternatively, multiple threads can exist within the servicesthemselves. For example, depending on the operation, a user or clientmay invoke multiple threads within the repository service. In someembodiments, the EIMA system may also implement a factory conceptwhereby a server is a service “factory” that handles queries each time aclient connects and requests an individual session. Each session managesits own client and then allows for the abstraction and separation oflogic for multiple client applications.

FIG. 50 schematically shows one embodiment of the interaction between aplurality of applications 5000 (discussed below), the CORBA bus 5005,and the archive 5010 (discussed below).

2. Applications

In addition to the software already described above, the host server 110includes additional modules that interact with the one or moreworkstations to perform additional operations. This suite of modulesgenerally comprise two sets of modules: 1) management programs andutilities (collectively referred to as management programs), and 2)Web-based user programs. The management programs allow an administratorto control the host server and, more broadly, the EIMA System. TheWeb-based programs, which run in a Web browser (e.g., InternetExplorer), are accessed from an EIMA Web site and allow users to performoperations (e.g., perform queries, print statements, export objects,etc.) on the archive. Various software modules that interact with theworkstation are summarized in TABLE 2 and are further discussed indetail in the operation section. Similar to the servers, not all of themodules described below are required for all embodiments and the hostserver can include additional modules not described below. The titles ofthe modules and the division of the functions of the modules are forexplanatory purposes only. One or more functions performed by themodules may be combined with other modules. Additionally, the operationsection below may include additional modules that are not listed inTABLE 2, but would be apparent based on the description.

TABLE 2 MODULE NAME DESCRIPTION Server Management Controls theoperation, including starting and stopping, of the servers. ImageCapture Imports images or existing databases into the image archivedatabase. Image Match Verifies that data in the Match Control File (MCF)matches the captured data in the archive. Reports Creates variousreports. Text File Batch Query Lists the required parameters for a textfile batch query? (TFBQ) Exporting Images Exports images to a CD-ROMwriter. File Management Manages files and databases including deletingdatabase cycles, deleting databases, and migrating from RAID to optical.Image Print Retrieves a subset of images from a database cycle forstatement printing Repair GUI Helps control the quality of the ImageCapture process by allowing the user to view images as well as correctMICR field data. Optical and Tape Enables the system to store images onoptical disc or Administration tape. Reconciled Export Exports anddistributes the results of a query to a CD- ROM writer. NetQuery AWeb-based program that allows a user to query and view documentinformation and images in a Web browser System Administration A utilitythat system administrators can use to control user access and activitiesin the EIMA system 100. Decision Support Support adds the capability toNetQuery to manage pay/no pay, pay amounts, and other factors fordocuments with fields that trigger the capture program’s Exception Codegenerator. TIFF Image Import Utility Imports TIFF images for the purposeof transferring images from the main location to a satellite location.Batch Update Updates user fields in a query table after the cycle hasbeen ingested into the archive database Archive Store, track, and accessimages as they are migrated from one type of storage device to anotherCapture Recovery Rolls back tables and post information regarding thelast item correctly ingested during Image Capture. Verify CaptureMatches items in the flat file with rows in the Index table and providesreports with results of the match MICR Exit Changes data correspondingto an Image to conform to the data provided in the MCF.

A number of the applications summarized above form a Generic-InputApplication (GIA). The GIA is an application that receives data from thescanner 110, performs operations on the data (e.g., for consistency),and archives the data to one or more databases. The one or moredatabases form an archive (discussed further below). Example operationsperformed by the GIA include: Image Capture, Image Match, MICR Exit,Batch Update, and MICR exit.

Before proceeding further, it should be noted that an identifier usedfor identifying a particular component, application, tool, engine,operation, act, button, etc. is for identifying that component,application, tool, engine, operation, act, button, etc. only, and shouldnot be limiting. For example, the term “Image Capture” identifies anapplication used by the EIMA system 100 for capturing images. Otherterms for identifying the application could be used in place of “ImageCapture.”

The operations of some of the applications in TABLE 2 are brieflydescribed below. A more detailed discussion of these applications arefurther discussed in the operations section below.

a. Image Capture

Image Capture allows a user to import images through 1) scanningdocuments into an archive and then using Image Match (discussed below)to insert images into the database, 2) importing raw files from disk ortape, 3) importing TIFFs or other objects, or 4) importing textdocuments using the Import Server.

b. Image Match

Image Match verifies the contents of an image database with auser-supplied match control file (MCF) and prepares the images for ImagePrint. The Image Match process verifies that all images expected forcapture were captured and that no extra images exist. Images referencedin the MCF but not found in the database are referred to as missingitems. Images in the database but not referenced by the MCF are calledfree items. After the images are validated by this process, they can beprinted with statements (Match for Print). When Image Match is complete,it generates Missing and Free Items reports and appends a record to anAudit report, which lists the processing statistics.

c. Batch Update

The Batch Update feature lets the user update user fields in a querytable after the cycle has been ingested into the archive database. InBatch Update, the user loads data from a specified source file or tapein a temporary table. This data file can include all or some of theitems in a cycle. The EIMA system 100 finds matches in the cycle withitems in the file. Only matched items will be updated with the fixeddata in the input file. Batch Update is an option that appears at theend of an Image Match session.

d. Image Print

Image Print controls the statement printing process. It combinesstatement text data in the print control file (PCF) with the images fromthe image database to produce statements with images, instead oforiginal items. The resulting imaged statement can be sent directly tothe printer and/or to tape for offline printers, mainframe printers, orselective reprints. When the Image Print process has completed, a recordthat lists the processing statistics is appended to the Audit report.

e. Archive and Optical and Tape Administration

The archive function is used to store, track, and access images as theyare migrated from one type of storage device (discussed below) toanother. When images are first captured, they are initially stored onthe fastest retrieval media (local hard drive) or RAID. After the imageshave been retained on the hard drive for a designated period of time,they are migrated to other media for more permanent storage. Thearchiving and distribution functions enable the system to store imageson optical disk or tape.

f. Reconciled Export

Reconciled Export allows the user to export and distribute the resultsof a query to a CD-ROM writer. In one embodiment, the exported imagesare written as compressed, tagged image file format (TIFF) graphicimages. You can use Image Library Offline to view and organize theCD-ROM images.

C. One or More Peripheral Devices 120.

The one or more peripheral devices 120 include one or more memorydevices for, among other things, maintaining the archive. The one ormore memory devices can include RAID, optical storage, tape-storage andsimilar storage devices. The one or more memory devices store aplurality of databases that form an archive, which can be of varioustypes including “local” or “distributed.” As will become more apparentbelow, a distributed archive can include multiple local archives.

1. Local Archive

An archive is designed to hold any type of item. That being said it isnecessary to have routines to pass items to the archive, export itemsfrom the archive, and view items in the archive. In one embodiment, thelocal archive supports three storage media for image storage and onestorage media for indexes.

The three media or tiers of the archive are RAID, Optical, and Tape. Thecomposition of the archive is driven by cost, retrieval time, and/orservice agreements. Each media has its advantages and disadvantages.RAID is a random accessible media with the highest cost per byte ofstorage, but it is self-recoverable and very fast. The cost of thismedia is falling but it still remains expensive per byte compared toother media.

Optical is a random accessible media, which uses a jukebox to reduce thenumber of active drives required to provide a level of service. Themedia is never brought into direct contact with anything that willdamage it and as a result it is a very reliable long-term storage mediafor high activity with long life. This media is the best of the threefor long-term storage and retrievability without a duplicate backup.With the ability to use multiple drives at any point in time, this mediais highly accessible at a much lower cost per byte stored and canprovide the fast access necessary for on-line queries.

Tape is a serial media, which uses a silo to manage the tape media. Thisis viewed by many institutions as the preferred media for long-termstorage even with the need to maintain a duplicate of each media toinsure recoverability. The media is brought into contact with theread/write heads and as a result is very susceptible to damage if usedhighly over a period of time. This media is the least expensive per bytestored but it is also the slowest media. The speed of the retrievalsfrom this media is a direct function of the speed of the drives and thetechnique used to store the data on the media.

Each industry will have its own migration strategies relating to themovement of the images among levels of the archive. There are severalmethods to achieve this migration. The following discusses the differentmethods available to the institutions using an archive of the invention.Unlike previous archives, the archive of the invention moves images fromany archive tier to any other archive tier. Also, through the use ofdifferent capture processes, the objects being received into the archivecan be placed on any tier of the archive and any of the distributedarchive locations at the same time. There are many considerations todoing this and just because the archive is capable of it does not meanthat it is in the institutions' best interest to use this capability.Additionally, it should be understood that other aspects of the EIMAsystem 100 can use an archive of the prior art.

a. Migrate from the RAID Tier to the Optical Tier to the Tape Tier

This is the traditional method used by institutions and it allows theinstitution to purchase the least expensive solution while providing asystem that supports good response time and the ability to optimize thedata that is stored. This method allows the user to do all repair workon the object and deletion of extra objects prior to the migration tothe next level of the archive. Some institutions will migrate from theRAID tier once maintenance is complete to both the Optical and Tape tierat the same time. Many institutions have the ability to store the objectat capture time on all Tiers of the archive used by the site. Thiscapability is available through the use of the prime pass capturecapability, but the institution looses the ability to optimize thestorage of objects identified later. The institution will inherently usemore storage because the objects that are deleted during maintenanceremain present on the slower tiers of the archive using space eventhough they are not accessible due to the deletion of the indexes.

b. Direct Capture to any Tier

This is available with the archive of the invention. In oneimplementation, the capture controller software takes a match controlfile (MCF) file from the mainframe that has the database to which theitem is to be sent, and the document identification number (DIN) numberof the item as part of the MCF entry. This allows the capture controllerto read the MCF, populate all the data fields, use the DIN number topull the item images, and send the item down the thread to the properdatabase. An advantage to the institution of this type of activity isthat it avoids the time-consuming migration process from one media typeto another. However, a detriment to the institution is that this methoddoes not provide any method of optimizing the way objects are moved tothe slower tiers of the archive so as to allow for retrievals that willroughly match the higher speed tiers of the archive.

c. Current Migration Strategy

To avoid the need to go through very time consuming reorganizes of thestorage, the objects are migrated in large blocks, which, for example,can represent a days capture. Until all the objects in a block have beenmigrated, the block space cannot be freed for the storage of newobjects. This method works well for all parts of the archive that haverandom access and if the long term archive tier is used very sparinglythis method will also work for the serial tier of the archive. Becausemany institutions want to go to two tier archives it has becomenecessary to provide a migration strategy that will organize the objectplaced on the serial media in a way that will facilitate the optimalretrieval of the objects from this tier. The following defines thisoptimal migration strategy.

d. Organized Migration Strategy

This method can be used most effectively when an institution has aminimum number of days (e.g., 45 days) of RAID object storage. In thiscase, the migration takes place over a ten-day period for the previousthirty days of items on the archive. One tenth of the previous 30 daysis migrated to tape every day so that after ten days all the items havebeen migrated. Of course, a different proportion can be used. Theseitems are organized on the tape according to what data elements are usedthe most to retrieve the object. Once all the items have been migratedfrom this 30-day period, all the objects are deleted in a way so as tokeep the number of days defined in the service level agreement (SLA) onthe high-speed tier and the space is freed for the capture of additionalobjects. Once there is 30 days of un-migrated data on RAID, the 10-daymigration cycle begins again. This method of migration is tailored tothe maximum retrieval speed of objects on the long-term archive. With 45days of RAID, the user has the long-term archive optimized on a 30-daybases and the days of storage are used in the following way:

-   -   First 30 days of storage period is being migrated.    -   Second 10 days of storage period is used to migrate the objects        from the first 30 days.    -   Third 5 days of storage period is used as safety to insure that        if any problems are encountered in the migration there is time        to solve the problems and complete the migration.    -   Once all the 30 days of cycle objects have been migrated, the        server proceeds to delete all cycles until no non-migrated        cycles remain then.    -   The process repeats again after 15 days of no activity (when we        are again at the 31 day in a new period).        e. Capture to Database

This capability allows the capture of any object into any database oneither a collective basis or an individual object basis. When a captureis started it can be directed into a specific database or, through theuse of a front-end capture routine, can route the individual objects todifferent databases based on the accompanying index data. In the case ofan item-processing department, this means that transit items can go toone-database and on-us items to a different database. This also meansthat the banks that process for other banks can route the items for eachof its bank customers to its own database.

2. Distributed Archive

a. Introduction

When an institution outgrows a single site environment or would like tohave more than one active system to back-up data, a distributed archivecan be used. The distributed archive feature allows some embodiments ofthe invention comprising the EIMA system 100 to add data to multipleseparate archives at multiple locations, while providing many threads ofinternal archive access. The feature supports maintenance and retrievalof archive data from the various sites, in addition to optionallong-term storage sites within the network. Each location has all thecapabilities identified as basic to the local archive but, through thedistributed archive, capabilities appear to each application (e.g.,Export, Statement Print, Query, etc.) as if the plurality of archivesare one distributed archive.

In one embodiment, the distributed archive is server based and makesfull use of the CORBA Bus. The distributed archive server makes allsites look and operate as one. This means that any function thatoperates at one location can have full access directly to all otherlocations within the security capabilities allocated to the distributedarchive. The speed of the distributed archive is only constrained by thespeed of the line connecting the geographically dispersed locations.

To manage the network traffic and to eliminate the delivery ofduplicates, the distributed archive includes internal rules. Exampleinternal rules include rules for routing request to the fastest servicelocation and rules that allow for the removal of duplicates prior toresponding to a query.

As shown earlier, through the use of the direct capture to a databasecapability, there is the ability to deliver items to many databases atthe same time with each database on different media and locations. Anupdate capability can be used to automate the updating of all locationsthat house the same item. This capability makes full use of thedistributed archive capability of the system to find all locationshousing an item that is being updated and then it also is used to updatethe same items held in different databases as well as at differentgeographical locations.

In some embodiments, the distributed archive provides the institutionwith the ability to have different geographical locations, provides full“hot” backup for other locations without forcing the purchase of fullredundant hardware at each location and/or different physical servers ina single location (or any combination of physical servers andgeographical locations), and/or provides hot backup for other locations(or servers), thus leveraging the use of existing and planed hardware.The loss of a single geographical location does not effect the retrievalof requested information from sites that are operational and, if thesame data is redundant in an alternate location, the request is be fullysatisfied automatically from the alternate site. If the data is not heldat an alternate location or has not arrived at the alternate location,the requesting user is provided with all available data and is notifiedthat a site is down that may have additional data and that the user maywant to request that data at a later time. When the site that is downcomes back on line, it will connect back into the network automaticallyand without the involvement of institution personnel.

If the distributed archive is used with a hot backup strategy, then itcan be coupled with the appropriate migration strategy. If theinstitution has enough bandwidth on their network, this synchronizationis done through the network. If the institution's network is not robustenough to handle the volume created by image data, it will be moved viatape. When tape is used to synchronize the archives, then, when the tapearrives at the remote location and is loaded into the appropriate tierof the archive, the indexes at the distributed location are updated anda verification record is forwarded to the originating locationidentifying the fact that the synchronization tape has arrived and isnow in the remote location. If no synchronization record arrives after aperiod of time, a new tape is created to replace the original tape.

Although specific installations may vary on the basis of hardware and/ornetwork configuration, the functionality remains the same for someembodiments of the invention. The use of CORBA and Java enable the EIMAsystem 100 to run on any operating system and hardware, regardless ofplatform, database, operating system, programming language or networkhardware/software used. The distributed architecture is highly scaleableand is sufficiently dynamic to accommodate a verity of potential archivesystems. Further, the Java programming enables the system to link toother Web-centric applications (e.g., online banking).

In some embodiments, the distributed archive contains multiple sites allof which have the capability of querying across connected sites. A setof user-defined rules determines the level of query capability accordedto each user of the system. Query capability is the functionality ofbeing able to search the system indexes on the basis of an individualobject attribute or combination of object attributes to find the tokennecessary to retrieve the desired object. Query capability can be eitherlocal or global. Retrieval of an object on the basis of a call with atoken argument is not considered query capability, it is simply aretrieval operation supported by a low-level media specific local index.

Upon the completion of either prime pass capture, utilizing ImageImport, re-pass capture, MICR repair, match and missing/free itemresolution (all of which are discussed further below), a captured itemsindex is stored and available for query and retrieval. If any changesoccurred in the index data as a result of any of these activities andthe objects have already moved to the alternate location(s), then updateindex data should automatically be forwarded to all locations nowhousing the object. Access to these items, as well as items captured atother sites within the distributed environment, will be facilitated bythe appropriate distribution Proxy(s). The Proxy Servers provide theability to submit requests and return responses from multipledistributed locations without any user intervention. This ability tosatisfy individual query and retrieval requests by gathering responsesfrom multiple sites is the foundation of Distributed Archive.

Items captured at a particular site can remain at that site on anyinstalled and supported media (magnetic disk, optical platter or tape)for as long a period as is suitable to the needs of the installation.This time period could be as short as one day or could be counted inyears. Additionally, captured data can be exported in whole or in partto one or more Global Archive Sites at any time and then be deleted fromthe original source location once it is confirmed that the data has beensuccessfully archived at the new site. This deletion indicator onlyindicates that the item is eligible for deletion. The actual deletion isgoverned by the local archive parameters.

In a purely geographically distributed archive, indexes reside on thesame server as the tables showing the physical address of images onvarious media. To the system, physical locations may appear as a singlevirtual index.

b. Use of the Distributed Archive in Providing Institutions with Items.

In one embodiment, users of the distributed archive are institutionswith multiple facilities that are used for item processing. Theinstitutions typically have network connections between the associatedsites (e.g., a WAN). However, the system configuration can be adaptedbased on the user's access needs, locality of reference, and desire tomodify existing network connectivity. The network speed and trafficpattern can dictate the objects are moved via sneaker-net via thehigh-speed network. An institution having the distributed archive canalso be a very large processing center which has many clustered captureplatforms, each operating independently, but to the user being viewed asa single unit.

In some embodiments, every location is considered a master location;there are no slave or redundant locations. When objects are moved fromone location to another, that data is imported into the new location andthe introduction of a new item into an archive cause no action exceptthe update of the object and index archive. If any index item is readfor the purpose of updating a query, the index item is set to alllocations to determine if that index set is held at a differentlocation. All locations that respond instruct to make this index setread only for the duration of the update operation.

All updates to the indexes are distributed to all locations having thesame index set. This is done by monitoring the write operations,retaining all the changes to the indexes, then issuing a distributedquery for the item that was changed and sending the changes to alllocations responding that this object is held at the location. If anylocation fails to respond, the update is held until a response isobtained from the location that the item updated is not housed. Once allsites are updated then the read only lock can be removed from all otherlocations.

Security features exist on two levels in some embodiments: 1) within theapplication and 2) through the login and password features provided bythe database management system. The security facility within theapplication is used in establishing a connection to the database dataserver.

By consolidating similar objects together, the archive reduces thenumber of tapes involved in retrieval and makes more objects availableon a single tape storage media. As an example, if a subpoena wasreceived for all items that were received for an account over theprevious 4 years, this request would be processed as follows:

(Present Process) Each cycle is migrated to tape and depending on thesize of the tape there can be any number of cycles on a tape. Forpurposes of this example there will be only one cycle per tape and onerequired object per tape. With 260 cycles per year this would mean tosatisfy this request would mean that it would be necessary to mount 1040tapes less the number of cycles still on tiers 1 and 2 assuming at leastone item is received daily.

(Organized Migration Strategy) The number of days of items on a singletape is a function of the number of days of tier 1 storage that theinstitution has purchased (see Organized Migration Strategy earlier inthis document). If there are 45 days of tier 1 storage, then a singletape will have 30 cycles worth of objects for this account groupedtogether on a single tape. This would mean that to satisfy the requestthe system would only have to mount 35 tapes less the number of cyclesstill on tier 1 and 2. This represents 3.37% of the mounts when comparedto the prior art systems and the number of mounts will go down in directrelationship to the number of days of tier 1 storage that is maintained.

In some embodiments, the virtual sorter front-end to GIA provides theability to take a feed from any device either prime pass or re-pass androute the objects through the use of rules to any database. The databasethread to which the item is routed retains its ability to have a MICRexit tied to that thread only. When the transaction exit capability isadded to the virtual sorter the institution now has the ability topopulate a transaction identification field identified in the classdefinition for the type of object being captured. The composition of atransaction is defined by rules contained in the exit and is independentof the rules used to route an object to a database. The application ofthe transaction rules is done prior to the application of the routingrules.

The following example is how item processing can use the abovecapabilities to maintain the content of a deposit as a transaction:

-   -   In this case the items are arriving from the prime pass and each        deposit ticket precedes the checks associated with the deposit.    -   The exit rules state that whenever a deposit ticket is        encountered a unique identifier is to be generated and inserted        into the transaction identification field.    -   The exit rules further state that the current unique identifier        is to be placed in the transaction identification field of any        object encountered that is not a deposit ticket.    -   Once the transaction exit rules have been executed the object        proceeds to the routing rules which can state anything, but as        an example the following has been defined: any item with this        institutions route/transit number will be sent to the On-Us item        database, any item having a different route/transit number will        be sent to the Transit item database.

Once the objects are in the archive the user can make use of the indexdatabase and define different views of the archive based on how the userwants to use the items in the archive. The transaction field may ormay-not be part of the data used to create these specialized views. Inmost cases these workflow related archive views will be only availablefor specified periods of time and will be used for very special workprocessing.

Through the use of this capability the user can structure any views theyplease of the archive no matter whither the items are held in thearchive in different databases at their local facility or at differentlocations. In the case of the financial institution these views caninclude: all-items in Capture Sequence, cash letter (which can havemultiple document types tied together by unique deposit identification),on-us (or account) number order, route/transit number order, exceptionitems (which can be by type, institution, etc.), high dollar amount,etc.

c. Site Management Reports

To better manage the distributive archive it may be necessary to providemore and better reports on what is going on within the archive. Thesereports can take the form of screen and paper reports, and can be usedto balance the transaction activity within the archive.

As an example of a management report, the system can balance the numberof items received from a sorter with the number of items sent. Further,the system can balance the number of images that should have been sentagainst the number received and archived by database. In one embodiment,these reports address all parts of the system in such a way that thereis no function performed in the system without appropriate balancing andmanagement reports. This balancing and management reporting can include:capture, export, print, queries, and inventory.

d. Performance Requirements

The performance of the distributed archive is largely dependent upon thenetwork configuration. The system architecture is designed to minimizethe data to be sent over the network by limiting network activity toremote procedure calls and image movement upon query requests only.Large data movement between archive sites is targeted for high-volumemedia such as tape. However, nothing in the system design will precludethe use of a network for large-scale image movement for institutions whowish to invest in network communications with sufficient bandwidth tosupport that activity.

e. Export to a Remote Archive

Export to a remote archive allows for data captured at any site to beexported to any other location. The export media can be a tape, whichcan then be physically transported to another site. Alternately, thenetwork connection can be utilized for an export to a remote site.Export can also be directly to an NFS mounted UNIX file system or a PCbased Remote File System (RFS).

Once transported to the new site, the information can be reingested intothe remote archive through the GIA module. Once the data is successfullyingested into the archive a message can be sent to the originating siteindicating that the original data has been successfully migrated and itcan be deleted when its retention time expires.

Due to the large volumes of data to be exported, the exported data willbe drawn directly from the local archive as the export is in progress,only a catch large enough to insure maximum network transmission speedwill be maintained.

f. Example

An example of a distributed archive 300 configured in accordance withsome embodiments of the invention is shown in FIG. 3. Site A sends itsdata to Site B for backup and Site B sends its data to Site A forbackup. Since Site C does not have a tape silo and it keeps only 180days on raid and optical. Site C sends their data to both Site A andSite B. For this embodiment, there are two copies of Site C'sinformation. The end result is that there are two copies of all data.Distributive Archive allows multiple copies to be at multiple locationsand allows a site (e.g., Site C) to search multiple sites. Site C canuse the distributed network to obtain the data as fast as possible andbased on its location and the network speed to either Site A or Site B.

g. Functional Description

For a local archive, a Repository Proxy Server manages communicationswith Optical Repository, Tape Repository and Disk Repository. For adistributive archive, in one configuration, each repository creates aRemote Repository Proxy. The Remote Repository Proxy communicates withthe local Optical Repository, Tape Repository, and Disk Repository, butit will also log into the remote buses locations and communicate withthe Optical Repositories, Tape Repositories, and Disk Repositories (SeeFIG. 4).

When the Remote Repository Proxy is called, it is provided with a listof items needed. The indexes are retrieved without starting actual imageretrieval until the user tags the image as needed. A similar proxy canbe used for the index database.

h. Other Peripheral Devices 120

As will become apparent below, the one or more peripheral devices 120can include other devices such as a printer (e.g., Xerox, IBM, andHP-PCL compatible printers) for printing statements, an optical discwriter (e.g., a CD-ROM writer), a communications port for sendingfacsimile transmissions or electronic communication (e.g., email)transmissions, or other known peripheral devices.

D. One or More Workstations.

In some embodiments, the one or more workstations 115 provides aninterface between the EIMA system 110 and a user or administrator,provides requests or instructions (both also referred to as inputs) tothe host server 110 (which are initiated by the user or administrator),receives information from the host server 110 (e.g., originating fromthe archive), and provides information to the user. An exampleworkstation is a personal computer. However, other workstations arepossible including Unix machines, laptop computers, handheld devices,Internet appliances, and similar devices. The operation of theworkstations for initiating an application (e.g., a query, an export, astatement printing, etc.) are further described in the operationssection below.

A diagram of one workstation 115 is shown in FIG. 2. One specificworkstation is an Intel™ based computer employing a Windows™ operatingsystem and an Explorer™ browser. Other types of computers withappropriate operating systems can be used.

The workstation 115 includes a communications port 200 for communicatingwith the host server 120, one or more input devices, and a visualdisplay unit 205. In one embodiment, the one or more input devicesincludes a keyboard 210 and a mouse 220 that allows a user to input datato the workstation 115. Other data input devices can be used including akeypad, trackball, touch screen, touchpad, pointing stick, microphone orsimilar device. The input devices 210 and 220 having a correspondingdriver program stored in the workstation allowing the workstation tocommunicate with the input devices 210 and 220. The corresponding driverprogram for the mouse 34 is a pointer driver program that generates a“pointer” on the display unit 205. The pointer driver program allows thepointer to be moved on the visual display unit when a user manipulatesthe mouse 220 and to select items when the user pushes buttons on themouse 220 in a prescribed order. Of course other input devices can havecorresponding driver programs and can perform functionally similar tothe mouse 220.

II. OPERATION

A. General Description

While the discussion herein relates to scanned documents (andspecifically checks) other objects, including video and audio objectscan be imported, archived, and exported. The names of the modules (orapplications) below are for explanatory purposes only. The operationsperformed by most of the modules described below can be extended toother types of objects. Additionally, none of the modules describedbelow are essential to the invention, although many embodiments use manyof the modules.

1. Image Capture

Image Capture allows a user to import images through 1) scanningdocuments into the EIMA archive and then using Image Match (discussedbelow) to insert images into the database, 2) importing raw files fromdisk or tape, 3) importing TIFFs or other objects, or 4) importing textdocuments using the Import Server.

For checks, Image Capture inputs scanned images and associated MICR dataand then stores the MICR data in a temporary table. Any records withinvalid MICR data are automatically flagged for repair, and Repair GUI(discussed below) is used to validate these records.

2. Image Match

Image Match verifies the contents of the image database with auser-supplied match control file (MCF) and prepares the images for ImagePrint. The Image Match process verifies that all images expected forcapture were captured and that no extra images exist. Images referencedin the MCF but not found in the database are referred to as missingitems. Images in the database but not referenced by the MCF are calledfree items. After the images are validated by this process, they can beprinted with statements (Match for Print). When Image Match is complete,it generates Missing and Free Items reports and appends a record to anAudit report, which lists the processing statistics.

3. Batch Update

The Batch Update feature lets the user update user fields in a querytable after the cycle has been ingested into the archive database. InBatch Update, the user loads data from a specified source file or tapein a temporary table. This data file may include all or some of theitems in a cycle. The EIMA system 100 finds matches in the cycle withitems in the file. Only matched items will be updated with the fixeddata in the input file. Batch Update is an option that appears at theend of an Image Match session.

4. Image Print

Image Print controls the statement printing process. It combinesstatement text data in the print control file (PCF) with the images fromthe image database to produce statements with images, instead oforiginal items. The resulting imaged statement can be sent directly tothe printer and/or to tape for offline printers, mainframe printers, orselective reprints. When the Image Print process has completed, a recordthat lists the processing statistics is appended to the Audit report.

5. Archive and Optical and Tape Administration

The archive function is used to store, track, and access images as theyare migrated from one type of storage device to another. When images arefirst captured, they are initially stored on the fastest retrieval media(local hard drive) or RAID. After the images have been retained on thehard drive for a designated period of time, they are migrated to othermedia for more permanent storage. The archiving and distributionfunctions enable the system to store images on optical disk or tape.

6. Reconciled Export

Reconciled Export allows the user to export and distribute the resultsof a query to a CD-ROM writer. In one embodiment, the exported imagesare written as compressed, tagged image file format (TIFF) graphicimages. Image Library Offline can be used to view and organize theCD-ROM images.

B. Operation of One Embodiment of the EIMA System

1. Overview of the Main Menu of the Host Server as Accessed by aWorkstation

FIG. 5 is a screen print of the Main Menu 500 of the host server 110 asaccessed by a workstation 115. To access the Main Menu 500, a userestablishes a TELNET session using the workstation 115 to theappropriate host (e.g., Unix) server 110 as is known in the art. Theuser then enters a login name and password. Assuming the login name andpassword are correct, the user enters the name of the Main Menu 500 atthe prompt (e.g., Unix prompt). The Main Menu 500 then opens. The MainMenu 500 contains options for setting the document type, database, andcycle, and also has options for launching the submenus of systemmodules.

Before most EIMA system 100 procedures can be performed, the userspecifies the document type, database, and cycle on which the user wantsa particular function to be run. However, setting the database and cycleis not a prerequisite for all EIMA procedures. For example, runningReconciled Export (discussed below) does not require the user to selecta database and cycle. The user can tell which document type, database,and cycle is currently selected by viewing the text in brackets (505,510, and 515) that appears after the first three main menu options. Inthe example shown in FIG. 5, the selected document type is Check, thedatabase is TestDB_313, and the cycle is 20010314. The user can changethe document type, database, and cycle by entering text in theappropriate field.

2. Server Management

The user verifies that a server is running by checking if the server'sabbreviation appears in the List of Servers on the Application ServerTermination Program menu 600 (FIG. 6). If the server abbreviationappears on the list, then the server is running. If the serverabbreviation does not appear on the list, then the server needs to bestarted.

To get to the menu of FIG. 6, the user selects the File Management &Utilities Menu option 520 (FIG. 5). At the File Management & UtilitiesMenu 700 (FIG. 7), the user enters the Drop Application Server(s) option705. This results in the Application Server Termination Program Menu 600being displayed. The Application Server Termination Program Menu 600provides information on the status of each virtual server. For theembodiment shown in FIG. 6, the Application Server Termination ProgramMenu 600 uses abbreviations, which correspond to the servers shown inTABLE 1, and, if the server is listed, then the server is running.Further, entering the number of a server and then pressing Enter stopsthat server.

3. Image Capture

a. Overview

Image Capture should be performed for the desired documents before theuser runs Image Match or Image Print. The user can import images intothe EIMA system using the following methods: 1) Scanning documents intothe archive and then using Image Match to insert images into thedatabase, 2) importing raw file data from disk or tape (raw file importis used for testing only), 3) importing objects (e.g., TIFF images), 4)and importing text documents using the Import Server.

Image Capture transfers the document images and associated information(MICR code) from the scanning device to the host system, reviews eachMICR code for correct syntax, stores the images and associatedinformation in an image database, scans and stores the special imagesused by Image Print, and/or adds a record to the Audit report that liststhe processing statistics. The images and their associated MICR data aresupplied from the scanning device(s).

(i) Parameters

Image Capture requires that the images and associated MICR data for aspecific database/cycle name and image capture parameters. Theparameters that define Image Capture processing requirements are definedin a Default and Override Parameter files. The Default Parameter file isused by Image Capture each time it is executed. It is also used by alldatabases in the environment.

(ii) Quality Monitor

During Image Capture, Quality Monitor can display a sample of the imagesas they are added to the archive. Quality Monitor displays a new imageaccording to the user-specified time increments (e.g., seconds). See thediscussion for Repair GUI below for more information on using QualityMonitor.

(iii) Multiple Scanners

Multiple scanners are supported by executing separate copies of ImageCapture software concurrently. The concurrently running copies of ImageCapture can be output to separate databases or the same database. Accessto a separate Main Menu 500 is required for each software copy of ImageCapture.

(iv) MICR Errors

The user corrects any MICR errors detected by Image Capture by usingMICR Repair. The user performs MICR repair any time after Image Captureis started. After Image Capture and MICR Repair have been completed, theuser is ready to initiate the Image Match process to validate images andassociated data against the match control file (MCF). After Image Matchis complete, the user can run the Image Print process to print imagesand associated data on customer statements.

(v) Batch Tickets

If the user runs Incremental Match, the user can scan a batch ticketprior to scanning the corresponding batch of items or type the Batch IDat the Main Menu 500. A batch ticket is a MICR-encoded document thatcontains a four-character ID that uniquely identifies the batch. Thebatch ID is appended to the Match Control File name when the file isbrought into the system using File Load. In this way, the scanned imagesare matched to the correct MCF.

b. Image Capture for Systems Using Match

The user begins Image Capture when he is ready to scan a new batch ofitems. If the user uses the Windows version of Quality Monitor, theQuality Monitor program is running on the client. Scanned images arestored in an image database that is identified by a unique combinationof database and cycle name. When the user is ready to capture images,the user can create a new database and cycle for the new set of imagesor can append the images to an existing database. The database and cyclenames may be predetermined by predefined procedures and the name can berelated to a corresponding match control file (MCF).

In one embodiment, the user performs the following acts to capturedocument data and images into a database cycle:

-   -   At the Main Menu 500, the user enters the Capture/Browse Images        Menu option 525 resulting in the Capture/Browse Images Menu        opening.    -   In the Capture/Browse Images menu 525, the user enters a Capture        Using GIA gate option. If the system has more than one scanner        installed, the user will see a Capture Source Menu to select a        scanner. This results in the user connecting to a scanner PC.        Typically, the scanner typically comes with a controller PC that        communicates with the host system.    -   When the Ethernet connection to the scanner is complete, the        user can then begin scanning documents. The steps for starting a        scanner varies based on the scanner type. Two example documents        that can be referred to for operating the scanner are DP500        Administrator's Guide for Unisys Scanners and NCR 7780 Users        Guide for NCR scanners, both of which are published by ImageSoft        Technologies of Maitland, Fla. A sample of the images can be        displayed on the Quality Monitor workstation if that option is        activated. As scanned images are added to the system, Image        Capture statistics are displayed in a text window. These        statistics include total images stored, image size, total MICR        defects, and the scanning rate.    -   After completing the scanning of the items, it is preferable        that the user shuts down Image Capture to prevent database        corruption. To shutdown Image Capture after items have been        successfully scanned, at the scanner controller PC, the user        exits the scanner controller program as specified by the scanner        when all items have been scanned and the scanner hopper is        empty. A message indicating that a successful shut down occurred        should appear at the workstation.        c. Capture Recovery

If Capture terminates as a result of an user error or system problemsuch as a server returning an exception, the Capture Recovery processcan accurately roll back tables and post information regarding the lastitem correctly ingested. The capture recovery process on the host systemis as follows:

-   -   When Capture is interrupted, Capture Recovery displays        information about the last item captured successfully (committed        to the database). The user should not rely on the scanner's        report of the last item it captured (scanned) successfully.        Rather, the user must use the last item that Titan reports as        successfully captured and ingested.    -   Reboot the scanner controller to flush the scanner buffer.    -   Reload and scan the items into the scanner that did not get        captured successfully.        d. TIFF Image Import Utility

(i) Overview

The user can import TIFF images from tape, CD-ROM, a UNIX processor orother devices for the purpose of transferring images from a mainlocation to a satellite location or for importing special documenttypes. The TIFF Image Import Utility supports 3480 (square tape),Quarter Inch Cartridge (QIC), CD-ROM, UNIX process, 8 mm tape, DigitalLinear Tape (DLT), Tiff Import using GiaGate (imports directly into thearchive without using Micr Repair/Repair GUI or Image Match), and Importfrom third party applications.

(ii) Importing Tiff Images

To import TIFF images, the user performs the following acts to captureimages from tape:

-   -   Initiate two separate Telnet sessions and proceed to the main        menu in both Telnet sessions.    -   Establish the database cycle in both Telnet sessions.    -   Choose the Capture/Browse Images Menu 525 (FIG. 5) for the first        session.    -   Choose a Capture using GIA gate option (TIFF Import).    -   Choose the Capture/Browse Images Menu 525 (FIG. 5) for the        second session.    -   Choose Capture Using GIA gate.

Performing the above acts connects the second work session to the TapeImport Process running in the first session. It also providesinformation about the number of images sent to the defined databasecycle. When all the images are imported, the host displays informationin the second session screen that includes how many images you added tothe database. It also shows MICR data for the last check images.

-   -   After the process has ended, the host also displays information        in the first session screen that indicates the image count and        the number of skipped bytes. It is normal for the process to        skip bytes. The user can validate the success of the import        process by selecting Browse Item Images from the Capture Menu or        viewing images in NetQuery.        e. Overview of Importing Images

As an alternative to scanning the images directly into the Image Archivedatabase through the Image Capture program, the user can use ImageImport to convert an existing image database to the format used by ImageArchive and use the Import server to import the images into the archive.

(i) Archive Import API

Due to the unique aspects of an existing image database, each client mayneed a specialized interface that connects to Archive Import API. Theuser can also use a Generic Importing Application offered by ImageSoftTechnologies of Maitland, Fla. The Generic Importing Application (GIA)resides over the Archive Import API and acts as a socket server to moreeasily obtain the images from other platforms.

A ScanGate II program resides on the host system and is an importapplication that receives images from the network and imports themdirectly into the Archive database using the Archive Import APIapplication. Although ScanGate II can accept images directly from anImage Soft scanner application, its main purpose is to receive imagesfrom another image system where the images have already been validatedand associated with other control information. Images and data that havebeen ingested by ScanGate II are not sent to the ImageSoft MICR Repairsystem.

(ii) Image Sets

The existing image database may already have assigned names thatidentify the sets of images, but these names need to be converted to theformat used by the Archive. During Image Import, a database/cycle nameis assigned to each set of images imported from the image database. Forthe EIMA system 100 described herein, the cycle name should be in theformat YYYYMMDD, which typically represents the original processing datefor the set of images. The database name/set name typically representsthe customer or business entity owning the images or if desirable thismay represent the type of image.

4. Image Match

a. Overview of Image Match

For reconciliation purposes, Image Match is used to verify that data inthe user-provided match control file (MCF) matches the captured data inthe archive. Image Match also allows the user to view free items, moveitems, and insert missing items into the archive. The Match Menu alsocontains an option for clearing the currently selected match file. TheMatch procedure is performed after the user has scanned MICR data andimages and resolved MICR problems, and before images can be queried andviewed in an image viewing program, such as Net Query (discussed below).

Image Match also provides ability to add additional search fields toeach of the image records using Batch Update. Batch Update allows theuser to update the captured data with additional field data that is notpart of the original MICR data. For example, the user's company mayrequire that a microfilm number be added as a search field to all therecords in the captured data. Image Match further provides the abilityto generate match statistics reports.

For the embodiment described herein, Image Match is required for ImageArchiving and Distribution and Statement Generation. The Print server isused to organize images before statement generation (discussed below).

When documents are scanned, the data from the MICR line is captured andthen ingested into the image capture index in the archive. When ImageMatch is run, data in the MCF is compared to the captured data in thearchive. Image Match looks at specific fields in both sets of data, andthen attempts to verify if the data matches or does not match. Followingthe Image Match process, a match statistics summary that details theresults of the match session is displayed onscreen.

Each MCF record preferably contains MICR data, including the fieldsrequired for Image Match, group ID and period in statements, and userfields. Each record in the captured data contains information about thecorresponding image including MICR data (made up of the account number,serial number, amount, transaction code, and transit/routing number) andthe fields required for retrieving the image from the database (e.g.,the image location and the size of the image). The MICR datacorresponding to the image may have been changed by a MICR Exit programto conform to the data provided in the MCF.

The Match Control Menu (MC) option 530 of the Main Menu (FIG. 5) is usedto access the Match Control menu, which includes a perform match optionon the Match Menu to initiate match. ScanGate II users do not need torun Image Match for archiving and distribution.

b. Types of Match

For one embodiment, two levels of match are run. One level or bothlevels of match can be processed during Image Match. The user setsparameter to determine which fields are used to perform the matchassessment. The actual fields that Image Match uses for dataverification vary depending on the user's operational needs.

The first level of Image Match is by account field, serial field, andamount field. This type of match attempts to match the two sets of datausing the account number, serial number, and amount fields; and thenoptionally, by the transaction code field and transit routing numberfield. If Image Match is unable to make a match against these fields, itwill try to match the data against the account number field and theserial number field, and then, optionally, using the transaction codefield and transit routing number field.

The second level of Image Match is by account field and amount field.This type of match attempts to match the two sets of data by comparingthe account number field, and amount field, and then, optionally, by thetransaction code and transit routing number fields. This match is usedonly after the other items in an account have been matched by theaccount number, serial number, and amount fields. Other criteria oflevels for performing a match are possible.

c. Initiating Image Match

The Image Match process allows captured data and images to be availablefor query and viewing in the Net Query program. After running ImageMatch, missing and free items are generated, and the user can generate aFree Items report, a Match Statistics report, a Missing Items report,and an Audit report. In addition, Image Match can perform statementprinting.

During an Image Match session, the user will have an option to run abatch update. Batch Update allows the user to update the captured datawith additional field data that is not part of the original MICR data.

When performing a match, the match database and cycle should beselected. Additionally, the user should start (if not already running)the CORBA Name Server, the Set Server, the Bus Administrator Server, theProxy Index Server, the Parameter Server, the Disk Repository Server,the Log Server, and the Repository Proxy Server before performing thematch.

To run Image Match, the following acts are performed:

Open the Match Menu:

-   -   At the Main Menu 500, the user enters the Match Control Menu        option 530, resulting in a Match Control menu 800 (FIG. 8)        opening. At the Match Control menu 800, the user navigates the        software resulting in the initiation of the Image Match process.    -   The user then selects the Enter Batch ID option 805. A Batch ID        list appears for the user's review. At the Batch ID list, the        user selects the batches for the matching procedure. After        selecting the batches, the user is returned to the Match Menu        800.    -   At the Match Menu 800, the user selects the Load Match Control        File(s) option 810, resulting in an MCF File List being        displayed. An example list 900 is shown in FIG. 9. The user then        selects the correct MCF files from the MCF File List 900        corresponding to the batch files. After selecting the MCF files,        the user is returned to the Match Menu 800.    -   At the Match Menu 800, the user selects the Perform Match option        815. This results in the Image Match process beginning. Upon        completion, a summary of the match results displays and then the        free item selection prompt appears.    -   The user can then perform a free item selection. After free item        selection is performed, a directory of the defect items is        displayed, and then the Batch Update prompt appears. At the        Batch Update prompt, the user can populate the captured data        with additional field data. A list of match summary results is        displayed and then the Image Match process is completed and the        user returns to the Match Menu 800.        d. Resetting Match

The resetting match options clears the temporary match space. Forexample, if user loads the wrong match file, resetting match will clearthe match file, so that the user can load the proper match control file.

e. Correcting Free and Missing Items

If any missing or free items are noted in the onscreen match resultssummary, the user can correct these items and then rerun Match. Freeitems are extra images that have been noted in the capture data, but notin the match control file (MCF). Free items indicate that there is adiscrepancy between the number of items in the capture data and thenumber of items in the MCF.

Missing items occur when there are records in the MCF with nocorresponding images. There is usually a direct correlation between thenumber of free items and the number of missing items.

Free items can be the result of scanned items that do not belong in thecurrent database cycle or incorrect MICR data. If a large percentage offree items appear on the report, there was likely a mechanical problemduring Image Capture. It is possible that the wrong tray was scanned ornot all of the trays were scanned. In this case, the user runs ImageCapture again. If the percentage of free items is small, thediscrepancies are probably the result of incorrect or illegible MICRdata. In this case, the user needs to release the images to the MICRRepair workstation for correction. Once the MICR data is repaired, theuser should be able to run Match again without error. To correct theunmatched items, the user performs the following acts in this embodimentof the invention:

-   -   At the Match Menu 800, the user verifies that the selected        document type, match set, and batch ID settings are correct. The        user then selects the Free Item Selection option 820. The system        flags the free items for MICR Repair.    -   The user then uses the MICR Repair workstation discussed below        to correct the MICR data for the free items. After completing        all the corrections, the user runs Image Match again.    -   If the report still lists Free Items, then the user either use        the MICR Repair Skip command to delete the item if the item is        invalid, or corrects the MCF if the item is valid but not found        in the MCF.    -   If there are still missing items listed in the report, then the        user either scans the item into the data base and then reruns        Image Match if the item is valid, or corrects the MCF if the        item is not valid. If the user cannot locate the missing item,        then the user can assign a surrogate image in its place. If the        missing item is located later, the user can scan the item into        the database and then rerun Match.    -   After all problems have been corrected, the user selects the        Free Item Group Move option from the MATCH MENU to move the        items into the archive.

5. Verify Capture

a. Overview of Verify Capture

If the image data is captured ‘clean’ (i.e., defective data has beenrepaired and the MICR exit has taken place), then after capture takesplace, the index tables are set as matched. If, however, the user wouldstill like to verify whether all the items that have passed to GIA areactually stored in the archive, then the user can provide a text filecontaining a user-defined set of fields to be matched against. The matchfields can be configured through the parameter service. Verify Capturematches items in the file with rows in the Index table and providesreports with results of the match. Verify Capture provides matchstatistics, a list of missing items, a list of free items. Thedifferences between Image Match and Verify Capture include: Image Matchperforms match incrementally, Verify Capture does not, Image Match onlymatches those items that are marked as “unmatched” and Verify Capturematches items that are already marked as “matched,” Image Match updatesa user-specified set of fields from items in the MCF file and VerifyCapture does no updates.

To perform Verifying Capture, the user navigates from the Main Menu 500to the Verify Capture option. Upon initiation of Verify Capture, the MCFfile is loaded and matched against the database and cycle. The matchresults are displayed. The user can then generate capture reports.

6. Text File Batch Query (TFBQ)

a. Overview of Text File Batch Query (TFBQ)

To export a selected group of images to media such as a CD-ROM, the usercan create a text file that includes query criteria and destinationspecifications. This file is called a Text File Batch Query (TFBQ).

The TFBQ can be created on a PC using any ASCII editor that does notembed formatting characters into the file. The file can also be createdon a UNIX system using “vi”, the text editor for Unix systems. Oncecreated the user creates the file, moves or copies the file to adirectory on the host system and then executes the file to locate theimages.

Each TFBQ includes of one or more queries or jobs. Jobs are writtenusing the following guidelines:

-   -   Each job has at least one valid query ID or an actual query        specified.    -   A job can contain pre-existing NetQuery type query ID's to be        exported and/or the user can specify actual queries to be        submitted to Query Server and then exported to Export Server.    -   Every job has a job name.    -   Every job has a customer name.    -   Every job has a job type field.    -   A job can have multiple destinations denoted with the start/end        destination pair.    -   Every destination has a media ID or destination ID.    -   A destination has an image format.    -   Any fields that are not required can be omitted and will receive        a default internal value.    -   Comments within the text file can be specified using a comments        character (e.g., #) Anything starting with the character and        ending with a newline character will be designated as a comment.

7. Exporting Images

a. Overview of Reconciled Export

Reconciled Export allows the user to export check items and images thatmeet a specific criteria to a CD-ROM writer (other method of deliveriesare possible). Once the job has been exported to the CD-ROM writer, theuser can create CD-ROMs that contain the query results of the TFBQ. TheCD-ROM's can then be distributed for viewing with an Image LibraryOffline program. An example Image Library Offline program is offered byImageSoft Technologies of Maitland Florida. The scope of items that areexported to the CD-ROM writer is determined by the Export Job's querycriteria. A text file batch query is used to specify each export job'squery definition and destination specifications.

Prior to running Reconciled Export, the user should verify that theexport job's query and export destination parameters are defined in theTFBQ, the export job's TFBQ and corresponding match control file (MCF)are placed in the correct directory, the export job's parameters are setin the job control file (JCF) and then placed in the correct directory,and the Export server is running.

During Reconciled Export, the user reviews the Job List report that isupdated after the user starts the export process. The Job List reportshows if any missing items have been found for a particular export job.If missing items have been detected, the user should correct these itemsand then rerun Image Match. A Missing Item report can be generated fromthe Export Reconciliation Menu. After a successful export, the exportjob is released to the CD-ROM writer for CD-ROM production.

b. Overview of the Job Control File

The Job Control File contains the parameters that are used to process anexport job in Reconciled Export. These parameters define the exportjob's name and the directory locations of the files that contain thequery specifications, and the MCF and report data. A job control filecan contain multiple export jobs. Before running Reconciled Export, thejob control file parameters should be set. The job control fileparameters include JOB_NAME, TFBQ_FILE, and MCF_FILE parameters, whichare typically required; and REPORT parameters, which is optional. TheJOB_NAME parameter designates the name of the export job, which isgenerated before and after Reconciled Export. The TFBQ_FILE points tothe location of the text file batch query (TFBQ) file in EIMA system.The TFBQ file contains the export job's query criteria and thedestination specifications. The MCF_FILE points to the directorylocation of the match control file (MCF). During Reconciled Export, datain the MCF is compared to the captured data in the archive. The MCFcontains the MICR data, the Group ID, and period in statements, and thequery fields. The REPORT parameters point to the location of an optionalreport file.

c. Overview of the Job List Report

The Job List report is generated and updated during the ReconciledExport process to help the user track the progress of the user's exportjobs. The Job List report shows the before and after status of theexport jobs. Before items are exported, the Job List report lists thenumber of items that will be exported to the CD-ROM writer, and if anymissing items were detected. After items have been exported to theCD-ROM writer, the Job List report shows the ID that was assigned toeach export job.

The Job List report provides the batch that contains the items andimages that will be exported to the CD-ROM writer based on the querycriteria in the text file batch query (TFBQ), the Name of the job asspecified in the job control file, the number of items that met theTFBQ's criteria and the number of items that will be exported to theCD-ROM writer, the number of items in the batch but missing from theMCF, and the number assigned to the export job. This number assigned tothe export job can be used to track the progress of the export job. Ifthe user uses the Job Manager or Resource Manager program, the sameexport ID number that appears in the Job List report is shown in both ofthese programs.

d. Running Reconciled Export

The Reconciled Export process enables the user to export images to aCD-ROM writer by loading the job control file that contains the queryspecifications. If missing items are detected, the user has the optionof viewing a Missing Item Report.

To export images to a CD-ROM, the user performs the following acts:

-   -   At the Main Menu 500, the user selects the Reconciled Export        option, resulting the Reconciled Export Menu.    -   At the Reconciled Export Menu, the user selects the file he        wants to export. A message appears asking if the user wants to        run Reconciled Export on this file. If the user answers        positively, the user sees a series of messages indicating        progress.    -   Upon completion, an option is given whether the user wants to        view the Missing Items Report. If the user answers positively,        the user views the Statistics Report.    -   After viewing the Statistics Report, the user can export the        images to CD. If the user answers affirmative, the images are        submitted to CD and a job id number is displayed. To track the        status of existing export jobs in the EIMA system, the Job        Manager program can be used to troubleshoot, customize, control,        and monitor jobs by export ID number. The Resource Manager        program is also available for creating new media destinations.

8. File Management

a. Deleting a Cycle

The user can delete a database cycle from the following locations:

TABLE 3 SERVICE DESCRIPTION RAID Selecting this option deletes thedatabase cycle from the RAID repository repository. IDX Selecting thisoption deletes the database cycle from the service module that keepstrack of item descriptors or query tables. Set service Selecting thisoption deletes the database cycle from the module that tracks databaseand cycle names

To delete a database cycle from one or all of the following locations,the user performs the following acts:

-   -   At the Main Menu 500, the user selects the File Management &        Utilities Menu option 520.    -   At the File Management & Utilities Menu 700, the user selects        the Delete Cycle Menu option 710. The Delete Cycle Menu 1000        opens as shown in FIG. 10.    -   The user then enters the number of the repository or service        that the user wants the cycle to be deleted from. The cycle is        deleted from the selected location and the Delete Cycle Menu        1000 changes to reflect the remaining locations where the cycle        still exists.        b. Deleting a Database

Deleting a database permanently removes the database from the archive.Before the user deletes a database, the user should delete all cycleswithin the database.

The user performs the following acts to delete a database:

-   -   At the Main Menu 500, the user selects the File Management &        Utilities Menu option 520.    -   The user then selects the Delete Database option 715. The user        can then select a database to delete. That database is deleted        from the archive.        c. Migrating from RAID to Optical

Migrating from RAID to optical allows the user to move a copy of thedocument data and image files in a particular database cycle from disk(RAID) to an optical device. The migration process enables the user tofree up disk space. After the user has successfully migrated the filesfrom disk to optical, the user can delete the database files from disk.The Optical Repository server and the Optical Robotic server need to berunning. To migrate images from RAID to Optical, the user performs thefollowing acts:

-   -   At the Main Menu 500, the user checks that the correct database        and cycle that he wants to migrate to RAID are selected. The        user then selects the File Management & Utilities Menu 520        option.    -   At the File Management & Utilities Menu 700, the user selects        the Start Migration option. The user then chooses the source        (e.g., RAID repository) and the destination. Once the source and        destination are selected, the migration is performed.        d. Restoring from Tape

The Restore procedure for multi-file backup is the same as the standardrestore procedure except that now the system keeps track of cycles thatthe user has backed up and their corresponding tape Volume IDs. Thesystem will request that the user mount the specific tape Volume ID forthe cycle he has selected to restore.

9. Image Print

a. Overview of Print Server

The purpose of the Print Server is to allow the user to retrieve asubset of images from a database cycle for statement printing. Forexample, the user can have a database that contains all items for anentire month, or the user may want to pull out items for customers whorequire statement print. The user uses a match control file to match upthe items that he wants to print. The user can then run statement printfor the clients that require it.

The print server retrieves the objects directly from the archivedatabase. Any objects received and placed into a new cycle are in aformat that is immediately viewable by NetQuery. In addition, the PrintServer allows the user to export print images to a remote server forprinting purposes instead of on the main host system.

b. Retrieving Images Using the Print Server

The following steps refer to two different servers: a main server and areceiving server. To retrieve images using the Print Server, the userperforms the following acts:

-   -   At the Main Menu 500, the user selects the File Management &        Utilities Menu 520 and starts the GIA Server if it is not        already running.    -   From the Main Menu 500, the user selects the Database containing        the source images and one of the cycles containing images.    -   From the Main Menu 500, select the Print Server option 535. The        Print Server Menu appears.    -   The Source Set Dates identify the range of processing dates to        determine whether to retrieve an image for printing. If Source        Set Dates are incorrect, the user changes the range.    -   The user sets the destination set name that corresponds to the        database name. This name should be typed as it exists on the        destination server or the execute print function will fail.    -   The user sets the destination cycle date. The user should have        already created a cycle with this date on the destination        server.    -   If the user wants to change the print export to a remote        machine, then the user types the name of the remote machine. The        user is then prompted to enter the name of the port on the host.    -   The user selects the MCF for MCF File Specification. The system        provides a list of all existing Match IDs. The user selects one        or all of the available Match IDs.    -   The user then selects the Execute option. Messages appear        indicating the success of the process. Messages are posted to a        log report as well. The user can use NetQuery to confirm that        the images reached the cycle successfully. If the user runs this        process again from a second range of cycles, the additional        images will be added to the images already present in that        cycle.        c. Overview of Image Print

Image Print produces account statements with both text and images insome embodiments of the invention. Image Print retrieves images that arepredetermined by Image Match from the image database, processes them,blocks them on a page, and formats them for a particular laser printerwith the appropriate header information. It then merges the images withstatement text data in an output data stream to a designated printerand/or tape drive.

(i) Surrogates

If the user has defined surrogate images, they will be printed in placeof any missing items during the Image Print process. Parameters forsurrogate images may be defined using the Parameter Menu.

During the Image Print process, communications software controls theactual transmission of documents to the output device. The ability toformat customer statements for output to a laser printer, and merge thestatement text with the blocked images, is an important Image Printfeature.

(ii) Different Statement Formats by Database

If the user wants to modify the format of statements by groups ofaccount numbers, the user must place all image statements for a set ofaccounts in a single database and use the Parameter Menu to modify theformat parameters. In addition, Image Print parameters provides the userwith several options for increasing efficiency and controllingpresentation of the final output.

Types of parameters the user can change by database include:

(a) Page Formatting

Arranges text information on statement and image pages. For images, theuser can specify page size and margins, page numbering, duplex support,image placement, and image bordering. For text data, the user canspecify font, print position, and include text lines on image pages. Theuser can add text such as serial number and amount on or under theimages.

(b) Account Separator Images

The user can use Account Separator Images to separate multiple accountsassociated with the same customer for consolidated printed statements.This is necessary when a customer (single customer number) has severalaccounts. The user can create up to 99 different line separators byusing the Image Match line parameter. The line separator can be a simpleas a horizontal line or it can be more elaborate.

(c) Statement Splitting

Splitting statement printing into batches is a very useful andtimesaving function of Image Print. This function enables the user tospecify how Image Print processes statement information for maximumefficiency.

(d) Good/Bad Split

Statements identified as having exceeded a user-specified ratio ofmissing or bad images can be processed into a separate file for furtherprocessing while good statements continue through the printing processunhampered. For example, the user can specify that each statementmissing more than three individual images and/or more than 10 percent oftotal images is bad.

Good/bad splitting is executed from the Print Control Menu and iscontrolled by parameters specified in the default and/or overrideparameter file. If the specifications designated by the parameters areexceeded, the statements are processed as bad.

The user may find it beneficial to use the Good/Bad Split function evenif he does not require the statements to be split. This Split functionperforms many of the same processes as Print, but in a fraction of thetime. This provides a way to review for errors before running Print.

(e) Volume Split

Statements can be sorted into different print files according to theirsize (volume) as defined by the user in the parameters file. Thisenables the user to use printing and processing hardware in a moreefficient manner. The user can direct large volume files, grouped forexample by zip code, to special handling equipment or configureequipment in the fashion which best suits each type of printing session.

(f) Defining Output Segments

The document sets that are produced by Image Print can be grouped intooutput segments, so that one segment can be completed and begin printingwhile later document sets within the same job are still being formatted.

(g) Defining the Target Printer

Statements can be formatted for a variety of Xerox, IBM, and HP-PCLcompatible printers. The target printer may have special parameterrequirements.

Before running Image Print, the following conditions should exist:

Image Print parameters should be defined—Image Print parameters provideinformation for page formatting, headings, printer channel assignments,splitting routines, etc. As many sets of parameters can be maintained asare required to meet different processing requirements. For example, abanking institution may require one set of parameters for printingaccount statements and another for money market accounts. During theinitial installation period, a trial and error approach to adjustingparameter specifications may be necessary in order to fine tune thestatements' final presentation.

-   -   All required images should be present in the image        database—Image Match should have successfully run. All images        which are referenced by the Match Control File (MCF) should have        been added to the image database by Image Capture. The images        remain in the same format in which they were received from the        scanner in some embodiments of the invention.

The Print Control File should be loaded and ready for processing—Forstandard Image Print runs, the Print Control File (PCF) is built by theinstitution's account processing procedures. The PCF contains the bodyof the standard statement text and determines the accounts to be printedand their sequence.

Image Match processing for the proposed run should be complete—The ImageMatch process uses information contained in the user-produced MatchControl File (MCF). The MCF is generated by the institution's accountprocessing system and this information is then used for Image Print.

d. Printing Directly to HP or IBM Printers

Before printing statements, the user defines the print parameters (e.g.,identifies page formatting, headings, etc.), defines the load parameters(e.g., identifies where the files are located, PCF exit program to use,etc.), and defines Capture, Match, and Archive Parameters. The Capture,Match, and Archive parameters determine scaling of images, levels ofmatching, etc. Additionally, the user obtains a Match Control File(MCF), obtains a Print Control File (PCF), and retrieves image objectsfrom different cycles. To print directly to HP or IBM printers, the userperforms the following acts:

-   -   From the Main Menu 500, the user checks the Database/Cycle name.    -   Assuming the Database/Cycle name is correct, the user selects        the File Load Menu. At the File Load Menu, the user loads the        current file load parameters.    -   The user then selects an input media (e.g., tape, disk, etc.)        The Current File Load Media toggles to the media type.    -   If the input device is tape, then the user loads the tape        containing the file; and when the tape drive indicates it is        “online,” the user types the input filename. While the file is        loading, status messages display indicating if the file was        found and if it was loaded successfully.    -   If the input device is Disk, the user enters the filename.    -   When the file is loaded, the user can run Image Match as        discussed earlier to verify accuracy of the MCF.    -   After running Image Match, the user loads the Print Control File        (PCF). The acts to load the PCF can be similar to the MCF.    -   From the Main Menu, the user selects the Print Control Menu. The        user can run the “Good/Bad Split.” To do this, the user starts        the Image Print process for the good items while researching any        Missing Items. After correcting the missing items, the user runs        Image Match again and prints the remaining “bad” image        statements still marked as “bad” by the system. If the user runs        Good/Bad split, the user is prompted whether to print all        statements, only good statements, or only “bad” statements.    -   The user should type the letter of choice and press Enter.        Statements are printed either to tape or to a specified printer        depending on the configuration of the system. While Image Print        is running, a processing status message displays on the system        console that indicates the number of statements processed. When        the Image Print process is complete, messages and processing        statistics display on the system console. Press Enter to return        to the Print Control Menu.        e. Printing to Tape

In addition to printing directly to HP or IBM Printers, the user canprint to tape. The user first obtains the image objects, MCF and PCF asdiscussed in the previous section. The user then loads a blank tape intothe tape drive. Typically, a minimum of two blank tapes, one for theindex and one for the data is required. After loading the tape the user“prints” the information to the tape. When this process is complete, theuser takes the data tape to the printer that the user uses for printingthe statements. The user loads the tape into the print controller's tapedrive. The user can then print the statements.

f. Direct Printing to Xerox HPIP

An HPIP server processes the print stream in a manner that replicatesdata as if it came from a tape. The EIMA includes an HPIP board and HPIPsoftware in a workstation allowing the user to print directly to theprinter at a faster speed. The user first obtains the image objects MCFand PCF as discussed earlier.

The user then performs the following acts to directly print to the HPIPas follows:

-   -   On the printer console, the user determines if the SDI (Shared        Disk Interface) is already started. If it is not started, then        the user starts it.    -   On the HPIP server, the user stops and starts the spooler as is        known in the art.    -   Also at the HPIP server, the user starts the Print Manager by        either clicking the printer icon in the lower-right of the        screen or clicking on Control Panel and then clicking on        Printers. The Xerox job window should open with an area to        display the spooled jobs as they occur.    -   At the Main Menu 500, the user confirms that the database and        cycle are set correctly. The user then selects the Print Control        Menu option and initiates printing. The files are then sent to        the Print Manager on the PC, and, then, the PC sends the files        to the Xerox console and statements are printed.        g. Generating a PCF

Using the Print Control File options in the Support Menu, the user cancustomize bank information and control printing of separator pages. Theuser performs the following acts to generate a PCF from the EIMA system100 instead of loading a specific PCF from another system:

-   -   From the Main Menu 150, the user selects the Support Menu        option. In the Support Menu, the user selects the option for        creating a Print Control File (PCF). The user can use standard        separator pages. In addition, the user can create or change back        information for the statements. The result is a PCF for printing        statements. If the user wishes to print images statements via        network transmission, this can be done via the Image Export Menu        using a TCP/IP connection and BLAST software or using other        suitable connections and software.        h. Miscellaneous Topics Relating to Printing

If the print jobs are large and taking up too much space on the harddrive of the workstations, the user may want to divide the jobs intosegments.

Occasionally, individual statements may be damaged or lost after theyhave been distributed to customers. After processing images, somecustomers delete the images from the database. Deleting the images makesit impossible to recreate the run or perform restarts to reprint lost ordamaged statements. Implementing an archiving procedure allows the userto access copies of the text and images required for statementreprinting.

Image Print provides a reprint utility that can be used to reprintstatements which is archived to tape at the end of each Image Print run.Each run also creates an index that is saved to tape or disk dependingon the selection in the parameters. The archive records are similar tothe records written to the statement output file, except that eachstatement is preceded by a header record simplifying the statementidentification.

The reprint capability enables the user to print a single statement or arange of statements from an index tape. To reprint statements, the usercan reprint to a tape first and then print, or can reprint directly tothe printer.

To reprint, the user performs the following steps:

-   -   From the Main Menu 500, the user makes sure the database and        cycle names are correct. The user then selects the Print Control        Menu option.    -   The user then selects the reprint option. A UNIX text editor,        vi, is loaded with the reprint request selection file. Other        editors can be used as well.    -   The user then specifies the statements to be reprinted.        Statement records must be referenced by a customer number. The        user can enter as many lines in the request file as are        necessary. Customer numbers should be entered in exactly the        same format as in the original MCF. The user can print by        customer number, print by logical ranges of customer numbers, or        print a range of statements based on where they physically fall        on the media.    -   The user then saves the file and is prompted to run Reprint.        Assuming the user provides an affirmative response, the user        enters a database and cycle name, and is prompted to load the        index file or tape. As Reprint processes the request, the user        is prompted for input tape numbers as produced by the print        program. If the user is reprinting to tape, as each output tape        is created, the user is prompted to switch the current tape with        a scratch tape. After writing a scratch tape, the user is        prompted to replace the input tape. If the user is reprinting        directly to the printer, the user does not receive prompts for        tapes. The output is sent to the printer.

10. Reports

a. Overview of Reports

To get information about specific activities in the EIMA system, thereare several types of reports the user can run. Reports can be viewedonscreen or printed. The system uses a report browser in someembodiments. TABLE 4 below, provides a description of these reports.

TABLE 4 TYPE OF REPORT DESCRIPTION Audit Reports Audit reports providelogs of user activity and usage, including capture data and queryactivity, in the EIMA system. Audit reports can be filtered by aparticular service. Each record in an Audit report is preceded by an A.Log Reports Log reports show informational error and warning messagesthat have been generated by EIMA services. Log reports can be filteredby a particular service. In log reports, the following characters appearbefore each log TYPE OF REPORT DESCRIPTION record to indicate the typeof log message: I - Indicates that the log message is informational. W -Indicates that the log record contains a warning. E - Indicates that thelog record contains an error message. Match Statistics Report Matchstatistic reports contain the following information about a particularImage Match session: The total number of processed images andstatements; the total number of MCF records read, matched and notmatched; and the total number of records written. Free Items Report Freeitem reports list the images in a particular batch that have not beenrequested by the MCF. The report data is sorted by time of capture.Missing Items Report Missing item reports show items that are present inthe MCF but that do not have corresponding images in the database. Thetotal number of unmatched records appears at the end of the report.Cycle Location Report Cycle location reports list the repositorylocation of cycles in a particular database. Optical Jukebox Opticaljukebox occupancy reports display information about Occupancy Report theoptical jukebox's platters, slot and volume numbers, side, andavailability. Tape Repository Reports Tape repository reports containinformation about cycles that have been migrated to tape; how much spaceis available on a specific tape volume; and the current status of tapedevices.b. Overview of Audit Reports

Audit reports allow the user to find out information about user andsystem activity by a particular service. The example shown in FIG. 11shows a sample Audit Report 1100 that has been imported into an Excelspreadsheet.

With reference to FIG. 11, the type of report column 1105 contains thealpha code that indicates the report type. In this example, an Aindicates that the record contains an audit-related message. The datecolumn 1110 shows the date and time that the message was generated bythe service. The source column 1115 lists the service that generated themessage.

In Audit reports, the message column 1120 contains several fields ofdata, and a comma parates each field. The fields in the Message columnvary depending on the service that generated the message and theactivity that was logged. The six fields in TABLE 5, are found in mostAudit report records.

TABLE 5 FIELD #/ POSITION FIELD DESCRIPTION 1 <hostname> The UNIX hostserver generating the log. 2 <processname> The system process that wasperformed. Examples of system processes are Access Factory, Set Utils,Migration Menu, and GIA-Session. 3 <procpid> The process ID of thelogging program. 4 <date> The date that the process occurred. 5 <time>The time that the process occurred. 6 <logtype> The type of log entry. Alog entry describes the process that occurred.

To generate an Audit Report, the user performs the following acts:

-   -   From the Main Menu 500, the user selects the Report Menu option        540 thereby opening the Report Menu.    -   At the Report Menu, the user selects the option for preparing an        Audit Report. The user then views the report in the Report        Browser.        c. Filtered Audit Report

The Filtered Audit report allows the user to get information about userand system activity by a particular service or services. The user isable to select which services' messages are included in the report.Information in the Audit report, of one embodiment, is listed by date,message source, and message.

To generate a filtered Audit Report, the user performs the followingacts:

-   -   At the Main Menu 500, the user selects the Report Menu option        540.    -   At the Report Menu, the user selects the option for a Filtered        Audit Report.    -   A “Date range? (y/n)” prompt appears. At the “Date range? (y/n)”        prompt, the user types y if he wants to specify that only data        from a specific date range is included in the report. The user        can specify that only data from a specific time period is shown        in the Filtered Audit report. To limit the report data to a date        range, the user types y and then presses Enter at the “Date        range? (y/n)” prompt. At start and end date prompts, the user        enters the start and end dates.    -   A Select Services Menu 1200 then appears (FIG. 12). The Select        Services Menu 1200 lists the services that the user can get        specific audit information on in the report. The user selects        the desired service. Multiple services can be selected. After        finishing selections, the user selects the done option. The        filtered Audit Report then displays in the Report Browser.        d. Overview of Log Reports

Log reports contain informational, error, and warning messages that havebeen generated by specific EIMA system services. In one embodiment, logreport records are designated with the following alpha codes:I—Indicates that the message is informational; E—Indicates an errormessage; W—Indicates a warning message. These alpha codes appear at thebeginning of each record in a log report. The Message field in a Logreport record contains the actual message that the service generated.

The Log report lists informational messages that have been issued byservices in the EIMA system 100. Log report data is organized by date,the service that generated the message, and the log message.

To generate a Log report, the user performs the following acts:

-   -   From the Main Menu 500, the user selects Report Menu 540.    -   At the Report Menu, the user selects the option for generating a        Log Report.        e. Filtered Log Report

The Filtered Log report lists informational messages that have beenissued by a particular service or services in the EIMA system 100. Theuser is able to select which services' messages are included in thereport. Filtered Log report data is organized by date, the service thatgenerated the message, and the log message.

To generate a Filtered Log report, the user performs the following acts:

-   -   From the Main Menu 500, the user selects Report Menu option 540.    -   At the Report Menu, the user selects the options for a Filtered        Log Report.    -   At a “Date range? (y/n)” prompt, the user types y if he wants to        specify that only data from a specific date range is included in        the report. At the start and end date prompts, the user enters        the start and end dates in a year-month-date format. For        example, if the user would like to see audit data for Jan. 1,        2001 through Jan. 3, 2001, he would enter 20010101 as the start        date and 20010103 as the end date.    -   The Select Services Menu 1200 then appears. The Select Services        Menu 1200 was discussed above. The user selects the desired        service. Multiple services can be selected. After finishing        selections, the user selects the done option. The Filtered Audit        Report then displays in the Report Browser.        f. Warnings and Errors Log Report

The Warnings and Errors Log Report lists error and warning messages thathave been issued by various services in the EIMA system 100. Each recordin the Warnings and Errors Log Report contains an entry for the date,the service that generated the message, and the actual warning or errormessage.

To generate a Warnings and Errors Log Report, the user performs thefollowing acts:

-   -   From the Main Menu 500, the user selects the Report Menu option        540.    -   At the Report Menu, the user selects the option for generating a        Warnings and Errors Log Report. The Error/Warning report        displays in the Report Browser and the total number of records        in the report is displayed above the report.        g. Filtered Warnings and Errors Log Report

The Filtered Warnings and Errors Log report lists error and warningmessages that have been issued by a particular service or services inthe EIMA system 100. The user is able to select which services' messagesare included in the report. Each record in the Warnings and Errors Logreport contains an entry for the date, the service that generated themessage, and the actual warning or error message.

To generate a Filtered Warnings and Errors Log report, the user performsthe following acts:

From the Main Menu 500, the user selects Report Menu option 540.

-   -   At the Report Menu, the user selects the options for a Filtered        Warning and Errors Log Report.    -   A “Date range? (y/n)” prompt appears. At the “Date range? (y/n)”        prompt, the user types y if he wants to specify that only data        from a specific date range is included in the report. The user        can specify that only data from a specific time period is shown        in your Filtered Log report. At the start and end date prompts,        the user enters the start and end dates.    -   The Select Services Menu 1200 then appears. The Select Services        Menu 1200 was discussed above.    -   The user then selects the desired services. Multiple services        can be selected. After finalizing selections, the user selects        the done option. The Filtered Warnings and Errors Log Report        then displays in the Report Browser.        h. Understanding the Message Data in an Audit Report

Records in an Audit report can contain a variety of log type values. Thelog type value indicates the activity that a service recorded. The logtype value is listed as a Message field in Audit report records. TABLE6, below, lists the log type values that can appear in Audit and Logreports.

TABLE 6 VALUE INDICATES THE FOLLOWING LOG TYPE VALUE ACTIVITY OCCURRED:LOGIN A user logged on to NetQuery. LOGOUT A user logged out ofNetQuery. CAPTURE Items were captured from a scanner. GIA_SESSION Animport session using the GIA server. QUERY Generates one entry for eachquery item. DISPOSITION Viewing, faxing, or printing in NetQuery.TEXT_BATCH_QRY A text file batch query was generated. MIGRATIONMigration of images to storage media devices. VERIFICATION Verificationof image migration. DELETION Cycles were deleted. SET_PASSWORD Apassword was changed. ADD_USER_GROUP A user was assigned to a group inthe System Admin program. ADD_GROUP_CAP A capability was assigned in theSystem Admin program. DELETE_GROUP_CAP A capability was deleted in theSystem Admin program. CREATE_USER A new user ID was created in theSystem Admin program. DELETE_USER A user ID was deleted in the SystemAdmin program. CREATE_GROUP A new group was created in the System Adminprogram. DELETE_USER_GROUP A group was deleted from a user in the SystemAdmin program. STORE_DOCUMENT Text documents stored in archive.STORE_STATEMENT Account statements stored in archive. DISTRIBUTE Queryresults distributed to media using Reconciled Export. EXPORT Exportimages to media using Reconciled Export.

i. Log Type Value Processes

In an Audit report, the fields following a log type value will varydepending on what log value is listed. To help understand theinformation in the Message column of a paticular Audit report record,the following topics contain descriptions of the fields that follow aspecific log type value. These topics are organized by the type ofprocess associated with a particular log type value: Login/Logout,Capture Value, GIA_Session Value, NetQuery Log Type Values, MigrationLog Values, Set_Password Value, System Admin Values, Store Values,Export Values, Distribute Log Type Values, Text_Batch Value.

(i) Fields Following a Login or Logout Log Type Value

TABLE 7, below, provides a description of the fields that follow theLogin or Logout log type value in an Audit report record. These fieldsappear after the log type value in the Message column. Field values aredelimited by commas.

TABLE 7 FIELD # FIELD DESCRIPTION  4 <Date> The Date the Login or Logoutoccurred  5 <Time> The Time the Login or Logout occurred  6 <Log type>LOGIN and LOGOUT  7 <Wrkst IP> The workstation IP address  8 <Login ID>The LOGIN ID of the user who logged in or out of the NetQuery or ImageLibrary Offline program  9-14 6 empty fields 15 <Duration> Length oftime in seconds the user was connected. This field applies to items withLOGOUT as the Log type. 16-19 4 empty fields 20 <Outcome> SUCCEED orFAIL

(ii) Fields Following a Capture Log Type Value

TABLE 8, below, provides a description of the fields that follow theCapture log type value in an Audit report record. These fields appearafter the log type value in the Message column. Field values aredelimited by commas.

TABLE 8 FIELD # FIELD DESCRIPTION  6 <Log type> CAPTURE  7 <IP address>Workstation IP address used to issue the command  8 <Login ID> The nameof the user who opened the Capture session on the UNIX host system  9-113 empty fields 12 <# Images> Number of images captured from scanner 13<# bytes> Number of bytes received 14-18 5 empty fields 19 <Destination>The database name used for the capture 20 <cycle> Cycle receiving thecapture images and data(a) Fields Following a GIA_Session Log Type Value

TABLE 9, below, provides a description of the fields that follow theGIA_SESSION log type value in an Audit report record. These fieldsappear after the log type value in the Message column. Field values aredelimited by commas.

TABLE 9 FIELD # FIELD DESCRIPTION 6 <Log type> GIA_SESSION 7 <SessionStatus> SESSION FAILURE, SESSION CLOSE FAILED, REGULAR FILE GENERATIONFAILED, or SESSION COMPLETED 8 <set name> Database name receiving theimages 9 <Set date> Cycle receiving the images 10 <class name> Indicatesthe type of images, for example, checks 11 <# of items> # of itemsimported. 1 item may represent 2 images if fronts and backs are imported12 <# bytes> # of bytes imported 13 <# failed> # of items for whichinsertion failed 14 <additional status> empty field or “INSERTS DISABLED15-20 Empty fields

(iii) Fields Following NetQuery Log Type Values

TABLE 10, below, provides a description of the fields that follow aQuery log type value in an Audit report record. These fields appearafter the log type value in the Message column. Field values aredelimited by commas.

TABLE 10 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION  6 <Log type> QUERY  7 <Workstn IP> Ifthe system uses fixed IP addresses rather than recycling available IPaddresses as needed, the user can use this field to identify theworkstation that generated the query.  8 <Login ID> The Login ID of theuser who generated the query.  9-10 2 empty fields 11 <Qryfile> Thequery name as posted from Image Library. Typically the date and time ofthe query. 12 <# images> The number of images that resulted from thequery. Note: The total number of images is provided even if the userstops the query before completion. 13-20 8 empty fields

TABLE 11, below, provides a description of the fields that follow aQuery log type value in an Audit report record. These fields appearafter the log type value in the Message column. Field values aredelimited by commas. The DISPOSITION log type value indicates queryactivity based on each item that is tagged and retrieved individuallyfor display.

TABLE 11 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION  6 <Log type> DISPOSITION  7 <IPAddress> IP address of the Image Library workstation  8 <Login ID> TheLogin ID of the user who generated the query  9-17 9 empty fields 18<itemsize> Size of items sent from the query server to the NetQueryworkstation 19 <Media type> UNKNOWN, DISK, OPTICAL, TAPE 20<Destination> The destination used for query results at a NetQueryworkstation is typically DISPLAY

(iv) Fields Following Migration Log Type Values

TABLE 12, below, provides a description of the fields that follow theMIGRATION log type value in an Audit report record. Migration fieldvalues indicate that items have been migrated to a storage device. Thesefields appear after the log type value in the Message column. Fieldvalues are delimited by commas.

TABLE 12 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION  6 <log type> MIGRATION  7 <IPAddress> IP address of the workstation issuing the command  8 <Login ID>User who is performing the migration commands  9-10 2 empty fields 11 <#Images> The number of images migrated 12 <Type> This is set to “mig 13<# bytes> Number of bytes migrated 14-18 5 empty fields 19 <sourceSource media of images: 1 = DASD; 2 = optical; media> 3 = tape 20<Destination Destination media of images: 1 = DASD; media> 2 = optical;3 = tape 21 <set name> Name of the set migrated 22 <set date> Name ofthe cycle migrated

The following fields indicate that verification of migration wasperformed. Please note that there are two verification log entries: oneis used for the number of images verified and the other is used forverification error count. The only difference between the two is the useof the #Images field.

TABLE 13 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION  6 <log type> VERIFICATION  7 <IPAddress> Workstation IP address used to issue the command  8 <Login ID>User ID that issued the command  9-10 2 empty fields 11 <# Images> Thenumber of images verified or number in error 12 <Type of The firstverification entry is set to “ver and verification> reports the # ofimages verified successfully, the second line is set to “err and reportsthe # of images with errors 13-14 2 empty fields 15 <verify %> Percentof migration verified 16-18 3 empty fields 19 <source Source media ofimages: 1 = DASD; 2 = optical; media> 3 = tape 20 <DestinationDestination media of images: 1 = DASD; media> 2 = optical; 3 = tape 21<set name> Name of the set verified 22 <set date> Name of the cycleverified

The DELETION log type value, below, indicates that a cycle has beendeleted after migration and migration verification.

TABLE 14 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION  6 <log type> DELETION  7 <IP Address>Workstation IP address used to issue the command  8 <Login ID> The Userthat issued the command  9-18 10 empty fields 19 <source Source media ofimages: 1 = DASD; 2 = optical; media> 3 = tape 20 empty field 21 <setname> Name of the set deleted 22 <set date> Name of the cycle deleted

(v) Fields Following a Set_Password Log Type Value

TABLE 15, below, provides a description of the fields that follow theSET_PASSWORD log type value in an Audit report record. The SET_PASSWORDvalue indicates that a login password change occurred. These fieldsappear after the log type value in the Message column. Field values aredelimited by commas.

TABLE 15 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION 6 <Log type> SET_PASSWORD 7 <IPAddress> Shows if the password change was generated from the SystemAdministration application; shows the password change command comes fromNetQuery; shows the IP address of the UNIX server managing the queryserver. 8 <Login ID> User ID that issued the command to change password9 <User ID> If a system administrator is changing someone else's ID,this field shows the User ID that received a new password. If this fieldis blank, this field shows that the Login ID in field 8 changed theirown password.

(vi) Fields Following System Admin Log Type Values

TABLE 16, below, provides a description of the fields that follow theADD_USER_GROUP log type value in an Audit report record. These fieldsappear after the log type value in the Message column. Field values aredelimited by commas.

TABLE 16 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION 6 <Log type> ADD_USER_GROUP 7 <IPAddress> Workstation IP address used to issue the command. 8 <Login ID>User ID that issued the command 9 <User ID> The UserID that received anew group assignment 10 <Group The Group that this User ID has beenassigned. Name>

TABLE 17, below, provides a description of the fields that follow theDELETE_USER_GROUP log type value.

TABLE 17 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION 6 <Log type> DELETE_USER_GROUP 7 <IPAddress> Workstation IP address used to issue the command. 8 <Login ID>User ID that issued the command 9 <User ID> The UserID that had apreviously affiliated group deleted from it's set of groups 10 <GroupThe Group that no longer includes this user. Name>

TABLE 18, below, provides a description of the fields that follow theCREATE_USER log type value.

TABLE 18 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION 6 <Log type> CREATE_USER 7 <IPAddress> Workstation IP address used to issue the command. 8 <Login ID>User ID that issued the command 9 empty field 10 <User ID> new User IDthat was created 11 <Max Maximum Retention Retention> 12 <DefaultDefault Retention Retention> 13 <User Dept> User's Department 14 <PagePrint Page Print Limit Limit> 15 <Active> Whether the user is Active ornot. YES or NO 16 <User User Description Description>

TABLE 19, below, provides a description of the fields that follow theDELETE_USER log type value.

TABLE 19 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION 6 <Log type> DELETE_USER 7 <IPAddress> Workstation IP address used to issue the command. 8 <Login ID>User ID that issued the command 9 <User ID> User ID that was deleted

TABLE 20, below, provides a description of the fields that follow theCHANGE_USERDEF log type value.

TABLE 20 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION 6 <Log type> CHANGE_USERDEF 7 <IPAddress> Workstation IP address used to issue the command. 8 <Login ID>User ID that issued the command 9 <Sybase ID> Sybase User ID (numeric)10 <User ID> User Name that is being changed. 11 <Max Retention> MaximumRetention 12 <Default Retention> Default Retention 13 <User Dept> User’sDepartment 14 <Page Print Limit> Page Print Limit 15 <Active> Whetherthe user is Active or not. YES or NO 16 <User Description> UserDescription

TABLE 21, below, provides a description of the fields that follow theCREATE_GROUP log type value.

TABLE 21 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION 6 <Log type> CREATE_GROUP 7 <IPAddress> Workstation IP address used to issue the command. 8 <Login ID>User ID that issued the command 9 <Group Name> The new Group Name thatwas created 10 <Group Description> Description of the Group.

TAABLE 22, below, provides a description of the fields that follow theADD_GROUP_CAP log type value.

TABLE 22 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION 6 <Log type> ADD_GROUP_CAP 7 <IPAddress> Workstation IP address used to issue the command. 8 <Login ID>User ID that issued the command 9 <Group Name> The Group that received anew capability 10 <Capability> The Capability that was added to thegroup.

TABLE 23, below, provides a description of the fields that follow theDELETE_GROUP_CAP log type value.

TABLE 23 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION 6 <Log type> DELETE_GROUP_CAP 7 <IPAddress> Workstation IP address used to issue the command. 8 <Login ID>User ID that issued the command 9 <Group Name> The Group that had acapability deleted 10 <Capability> The Capability that was deleted fromthe group.

(vii) Fields Following Store Log Type Values

These log type values indicate specific details about document andstatement storage in the archive. TABLE 24, below, provides adescription of the fields that follow the STORE_DOCUMENT log type valuein an Audit report record. These fields appear after the log type valuein the Message column. Field values are delimited by commas.

TABLE 24 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION  6 <Log type> STORE_DOCUMENT  7 <IPAddress> Workstation IP address used to issue the command.  8 <Login ID>User ID that issued the command  9-11 3 empty fields 12 <# Documents>The number of documents stored. 13 <# Bytes> # of bytes that were stored14-20 7 empty fields 21 <set name> Database name receiving the documents22 <cycle date> Cycle name that received the documents

TABLE 25, below, provides a description of the fields that follow theSTORE_STATEMENT log type value in an Audit report record. These fieldsappear after the log type value in the Message column. Field values aredelimited by commas.

TABLE 25 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION  6 <log type> STORE_STATEMENT  7 <IPAddress> Workstation IP address that issued the command.  8 <Login ID>Login ID of the user who issued the command.  9-11 3 empty fields 12<#Images> The number of statements stored. 13 <# bytes> # of bytes ofdata stored. 14-20 7 empty fields 21 <set name> Database name thatreceived the statements 22 <cycle date> Cycle name that received thestatements

(viii) Fields Following Export Log Type Values

TABLE 26, below, provides a description of the fields that follow theEXPORT_JOBDESTVOL log type value in an Audit report record. These fieldsappear after the log type value in the Message column. Field values aredelimited by commas.

TABLE 26 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION 6 <Log type> EXPORT_JOBDESTVOL 7<JobID> System assigned Job ID. (Numeric-8 digits) 8 <Job Name> The nameof the job as entered in Job Manager or via NetQuery. 9 <JobDescription> The description of the job as entered in Job Manager orNetQuery. 10 <Login ID> The name of the user who submitted the job. 11<Customer ID> The Customer ID who is receiving the export. 12 <Job Type>The type of job which may be AUTOMATIC, MANUAL, DEFERRED or UNKNOWN JOBTYPE. 13-15 3 empty fields 16 <Submit The date and time the job wasfirst submitted to the DateTime> export server. For example May 11 19998:20 A.M. 17 empty field 18 <img count> # of images exported 19 <#bytes> # bytes 20 <JobDestID> The job destination ID. (Numeric 8 digits)21 <Dest ID> Destination ID. 22-23 2 empty fields 24 <DestState>Destination state may be: PENDING, READY, EXECUTING, COMPLETED, STOPPED,DEFERRED, RESOURCEWAIT, UNKNOWNJOB STATE. 25 <DestStatus> Thedestination status of a job may be COMPLETED, STOPPED, FAILED,EXECUTING, NOT STARTED, UNKNOWN DEST STATUS 26 <Media Type> Generaldescription of the output media. Media types can include UNIX TAPE, UNIXPRINT, UNIX FAX, REMOTE FAX, REMOTE PRINT, REMOTE DISKETTE, REMOTE TAPE,TRANSMIT, UNIX DISKETTE, CD-ROM or UNKNOWN MEDIA TYPE. 27 <Img Format>Image Format may be TIFF, PCL, PS, COF or RAW 28 <Priority> Priority ofthe job (1 through 9) 29 <CreateDBF> Whether the system should generatea DBF (index) file on this media. TRUE or FALSE 30 <CreateIDX> Whetheran index should be generated. TRUE or FALSE 31 <CreateMICR> Whether ornot MICR data should be generated. TRUE or FALSE 32 <# of copies> Numberof copies to be made. 33 <Img/per/page> For Fax or print, lists theimages per page. 34 <Fax Phone> The fax phone number 35 <volcnt> VolumeCount 36-37 2 empty fields 38 <VolIndex> Volume Index (count startsat 1) 39 <VolImgCnt> The number of images placed on the volume 40<VolByte The number of bytes for that volume or fax. Cnt>

(ix) Fields Following Distribute Log Type Values

TABLE 27, below, provides a description of the fields that follow theDISTRIBUTE log type value in an Audit report record. These fields appearafter the log type value in the Message column. Field values aredelimited by commas. The DISTRIBUTE value indicates that an export to aremote printer/fax was performed.

TABLE 27 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION  6 <Log Type> DISTRIBUTE  7 <IPAddress> Workstation IP address used to issue the command.  8 <Login ID>The name of the user who sent the request.  9 <Cust ID> For an immediaterequest, the Customer ID displays as USER_(—) 10 <Qryfile> The name ofthe query file. 11 empty field 12 <# images> Number of images 13-15 3empty fields 16 <#pages/ For Print, the number of pages printed. phone#>For Fax, the phone number of the recipient. 17-19 3 empty fields 20<Destination> PRINT, FAX

(x) Fields Following a Text_Batch Log Type Value

TABLE 28, below, provides a description of the fields that follow theTEXT_BATCH log type value in an Audit report record. The TEXT_BATCH logtype indicates that a text file batch query job was exported. Thesefields appear after the log type value in the Message column. Fieldvalues are delimited by commas. The DISTRIBUTE value indicates that anexport to a remote printer/fax was performed.

TABLE 28 FIELD# FIELD DESCRIPTION  6 <Log type> TEXT_BATCH  7 <IPAddress> Workstation IP address used to issue the command.  8 <login ID>The User ID that issued the command at the Electronic Distribution menuto process a Text file batch query.  9 <CustID> Customer ID 10<Queryfile> Batch Query filename 11 <QryID> If your TFBQ includes morethan one query, this field identifies the query sequence number. Forexample, the second query in a batch will have QryID = 2. 12 <# Images>Number of images resulting from the query. 13-19 7 empty fields 20<Destination> The destination used for query results of a TFBQ. Forexample, Print, Fax, Database, CDROM, Diskette, and Tape.j. Image Match Reports

(i) Match Statistics Report

To view, print, or delete an Image Match report, the user performs thefollowing acts:

-   -   From the Main Menu 500, the user selects Report Menu 540.    -   The user then selects the option for providing a Match        Statistics Report. The information contained in the Match        Database Statistics report is accumulated during processing. In        one embodiment, this report provides run-specific information        about the total number of images processed, the total number of        statements processed, the total number of MCF records read,        matched and not matched, and the total number of records written        during the Image Match processing. The Match database statistics        report contains the following information:

TABLE 29 ITEM DESCRIPTION Regular fronts Lists the total number of imageitems in the database. Used fronts Lists the total image items that havebeen matched. Unused fronts Lists the total number of image items thathave not been matched. These are referred to as free items. StatementsIndicates the number of unique account numbers processed. Processed MCFRecords read Lists the total number of records in the MCF. Dummy recordsIndicates the number of synchronization records corresponding tono-activity statements or one dummy record per statement. The value inthis field depends on the structure of the MCF. MCF advertising Liststhe total number of records that have requested advertising imagesimages. MCF advertising Indicates the total number of advertising imagesrequested by the images in error MCF but not found in the database. MCFrecords Specifies the number of MCF records successfully matched to anmatched item in the database. Matched on Indicates the total of imagesmatched on account number, serial Acct/Ser/Amt number, and amount.Matched on Acct/Ser Indicates the total number of images matched onaccount and serial number. The dollar amount did not match and couldcontain blanks and/or zeros. Matched on Indicates the total number ofimages matched on account number Acct/Amt without and amount. No serialnumber was present in the MCF. serial no. Matched on Indicates the totalnumber of images matched on the account Acct/Amt with serial number andamount. A serial number was present in the MCF but no. no matchingserial number was found in the MICR data. MCF records not Indicates thetotal number of MCF records for which there was no matched match in thedatabase. % Unmatched Indicates the number of missing image itemsexpressed as a percentage of MCF records. Records written Specifies thenumber of records written to each output file.

(ii) Free Items Report

The Free Items Report lists the images contained in a particular batchof a database cycle that have not been requested by the MCF. The reportis sorted by time of capture. To view, print, or delete a Free ItemsReport, the user performs the following acts:

-   -   At the Main Menu 500, the user selects the Report Menu option        540.    -   The user then selects the option for providing a Free Items        Report. The report title can contain the date, time, database        name, and cycle name. Following is a description of the Standard        and Custom Free Items Report fields.

TABLE 30 ITEM DESCRIPTION Match Status (A/U) Indicates whether theunmatched record account number is in the MCF. A indicates that theaccount number is in the MCF. U indicates that the account number is notin the MCF. Account Number- If the report displays binary zeroes thismeans that the account Account number number could not be read and needsto be repaired using the MICR Repair module. Serial number Serial numberReference # Reference number Amount Dollar amount. TranCode Transactioncode Routing Transit routing number Sort Code Sort Code Usage recordsTotal number of Free Items read. read a - type usage Total number ofunmatched records having an records selected account number in the MCF.u - type usage Total number of unmatched records not having an recordsread account number in the MCF.

(iii) Missing Items Report

The Missing Items Report lists any items that are present in the MCF buthave no corresponding image in the database. The total number ofunmatched records appears at the end of the report. To generate aMissing Items Report, the user performs the following acts:

-   -   At the Main Menu 500, the user selects the Report Menu option        540.    -   The user then selects the option for a Missing Items Report. The        report title can contain the date, time, database name, and        cycle name. Following is a description of the Missing Items        Report fields:

TABLE 31 ITEM DESCRIPTION Comment Specifies results of Good/Bad Split.Blank indicates that Good/Bad Split was not run. Customer Customernumber (account number) associated with the Number unmatched itemcontained in the MCF. Account Account number associated with theunmatched item. Number Trcode Transaction code for the item. SerialNumber Serial number associated with the item. Serial Number Referencenumber associated with the item. Reference # Routing Routing informationassociated with the institution processing the item. Amount Dollaramount associated with the unmatched item as found in the MCF. Sort CodeSort code associated with the item. Unmatched Total number of recordspresent in the MCF for which no records read matching items were foundin the image database.k. Cycle & Optical Reports

(i) Cycle Location Report

The Cycle Location report lists the current location of database cyclesby repository. The report indicates if a cycle is located in one or moreof the following repositories:

TABLE 32 Raid Repository In the report, a “D” indicates that the cycleresides on RAID. Optical Repository In the report, an “O” indicates thatthe cycle resides on optical. Tape Repository In the report, a “T”indicates that the cycle resides on tape.

To generate a Cycle Location report, the user performs the followingacts:

-   -   At the Main Menu 500, the user selects the Report Menu option        540.    -   At the Report Menu, the user selects the Cycle Location Report        option. At this point, the user has the option of viewing the        report onscreen, sending the report to a UNIX printer or        canceling the report. Upon selecting an option, the report is        provided.

(ii) Optical Jukebox Occupancy Report

The user can generate an Optical Jukebox Occupancy report to getinformation about the data that has been migrated to optical. Togenerate an Optical Jukebox Occupancy report, the Optical Administrationserver should be running. The Optical Administration server and theOptical Repository server should not be running at the same time. Theuser should stop the Optical Repository Server and then start theOptical Administration server before running the Optical JukeboxOccupancy report.

To generate an Optical Jukebox Occupancy report, the user performs thefollowing acts:

-   -   At the Main Menu 500, the user selects the Report Menu option        540.    -   At the Report Menu, the user then selects the option that        generates the Optical Jukebox Occupancy Report. The Optical        Jukebox Occupancy Report displays in the Report Browser.

1. Tape Repository Reports

(i) Overview of Tape Repository Reports

Tape Repository Reports allow the user to get specific information abouttape devices and data that has been migrated to tape. The following tapereports can be run from the Report menu:

TABLE 33 REPORT DESCRIPTION Tape Repository Lists a history of databasecycles that have been Occupancy report migrated to tape Tape RepositoryProvides the available space on a specific Volume report tape volumeTape Repository Shows the current status of tape devices Drive Statusreport

(ii) Tape Repository Occupancy Report

The Tape Repository Occupancy report provides a history of databasecycles that have been migrated to tape. This report contains thefollowing information:

TABLE 34 INFORMATION DESCRIPTION Set Lists the document type anddatabase cycle that has been migrated Date Written Shows the date(month-date-year format) that the cycle was migrated to tape. VolumeLists the internal volume number of the tape that the cycle has beenmigrated to. Images Lists the total number of images in the migratedcycle.

To generate a Tape Repository Occupancy report, the user performs thefollowing acts:

-   -   At the Main Menu 500, the user selects the Report Menu option        540.    -   At the Report Menu, the user selects the option to create a Tape        Repository Occupancy Report. The Tape Repository Occupancy        report displays in the Report Browser.

(iii) Tape Repository Volume Report

The Tape Repository Volume Report shows the amount of available storagespace on your tape volumes. This report contains the followinginformation:

TABLE 35 INFORMATION DESCRIPTION Volume Lists the internal volume numberof each tape volume. Type Shows the date (month-date-year format) thatthe cycle was migrated to tape. Status Indicates if the tape volume isavailable for reading or writing. Available Space Lists the availablestorage space in megabytes (MB) (MB) on the tape volume.

To generate a Tape Repository Occupancy report, the user performs thefollowing acts:

-   -   At the Main Menu 500, the user selects the Report Menu option        540.    -   At the Report Menu, the user selects the option to create a Tape        Repository Volume report. The Tape Repository Volume report        displays in the Report Browser.

(iv) Tape Repository Drive Status Report

The Tape Repository Drive Status report provides status informationabout tape storage devices. This report contains the followinginformation:

TABLE 36 INFORMATION DESCRIPTION Drive Lists the drive that the tapestorage device is assigned to. Host The UNIX host server that the tapestorage device is mounted on. Device The path that the tape deviceresides in. Device Type Shows details about the tape storage devicehardware. Status Indicates if the tape volume is available for readingor writing. Use Lists if the tape device can be read or written to (R =Read, W = Write).

The user performs the following acts to generate a Tape Repository DriveStatus report:

-   -   At the Main Menu 500, the user selects the Report Menu option        540.    -   At the Report Menu, the user selects the option to create a Tape        Repository Drive Status Report. The Tape Repository Drive Status        report displays in the Report Browser.

11. Tape Administration

a. Overview of Tape Administration

The Tape Administration menu contains options for managing tape volumesthat contain Titan cycles, which have been migrated from RAID to tape.The Tape Administration menu includes tasks for verify tape driveavailability, mount and unmount tape volumes, add and remove tapevolumes to and from the tape silo, remove tape volume data, place a tapedrive online or offline, and recover a failed tape drive.

While tape volumes are in the tape silo, users can query tape datathrough the NetQuery program. The tape silo's robotic arm transferstapes into the tape drives as tape volumes are requested for migrationand querying purposes. The number of tapes that can be stored in yourtape silo depends on the make and model of the equipment.

b. Checking the Availability of a Tape Drive

The user can view the read/write capability of tape drives that are notcurrently in use by selecting the Check drive status option on the TapeRepository Administration Menu. The Drive Status report lists thefollowing information about each available tape drive:

TABLE 37 INFORMATION DESCRIPTION Drive The directory location of thetape drive on the UNIX system Host The computer that the tape device isconnected to Device The filename and location of the tape drive's devicefile Device Type The type of tape device Status The current activity ofthe tape drive; a tape drive may be shown as Available, Writing orReading Use The read/write permissions of a tape drive Volume If a tapeis in the drive, this column shows the six-digit volume ID assigned tothe tape volume

To generate an onscreen Drive Status report that displays tape driveavailability, the user performs the following acts:

-   -   At the Main Menu 500, the user selects the Tape Administration        Menu 545.    -   At the Tape Repository Administration Menu 545, the user selects        the option for checking the Drive Status report option. The user        can then note which tape drives are available.        c. Mounting a Tape Volume

Tape volumes should be mounted to make them accessible for reading orwriting. The Mount option on the Tape Administration menu allows theuser to instruct the tape silo to load a specific tape volume into aparticular tape drive.

To mount a tape volume into a tape drive, the user performs thefollowing acts:

-   -   At the Main Menu 500, the user selects the Tape Administration        Menu option 545.    -   At the Tape Repository Administration Menu, the user selects the        option for mounting a specific volume in a drive. A Drive Status        Menu displays. The Drive Status menu lists the currently        available tape drives. Only tape drives that are available for        mounting are shown in this report.    -   The user selects the number of the drive that the user wants to        mount. A prompt then displays for entering the number of the        tape volume that the user wants to mount into the drive.

12. Optical Administration

a. Overview of Optical Administration

Optical Administration is used to transfer images and related databasefiles to and from optical cartridges stored in a jukebox. This transferis called “migration”, or most commonly “optical migration”. The OpticalAdministration application includes an Optical Migration procedure andOptical Administration procedure.

Optical Administration allows the user to migrate your data from: RAIDto Optical, Optical to RAID, Optical to Optical, Optical to Tape, andTape to Optical. Optical Administration Procedure allows the user to addand remove cartridges from the jukebox.

Each jukebox has its own Optical Administration database. Each jukeboxhas an assigned identifier (e.g., OR1, OR2, OR3, etc). Each jukebox'soptical system uses three servers, which are listed below:

TABLE 38 SERVER DESCRIPTION Optical Should be running to perform opticalservices. Robotics Server Optical Used for viewing and migrating imagesstored on Repository an optical disk. Server Optical Used for importingand exporting cartridges from the Administration jukebox. Serverb. Optical Cartridges

The optical system supports two types of optical cartridges: reusable(Erasable Optical Cartridge) and write once, read many (WORM). The useruses the Erasable Optical Cartridges for data that he does not requirepermanently. Once the user no longer require that data on a reusableoptical cartridge, he can erase it and reuse the cartridge.Alternatively, the user uses WORM cartridges when he requires apermanent record of the data. A Jukebox Occupancy Report is available todescribe the contents of your system jukeboxes.

The following describes the optical storage process data flow for oneembodiment:

-   -   Run ImageCapture and ImageMatch (or import the images using        another method).    -   Copy the images from disk to optical cartridge.    -   Delete the images from the disk. If the user generates a query        using NetQuery, and the user has previously migrated the images        to optical cartridges, and if the cartridge containing the        results of the query is located in the jukebox, then the system        immediately sends the query results to NetQuery.        C. Other Applications

While Section 2B describes operating one embodiment of the EIMA system100, other methods of operation can be used as well. Additionally, thesections below describe other applications that are used by otherembodiments of the invention.

D. System Administration

1. Introduction to System Administration

a. Overview of System Administration

System Administration is a utility that system administrators can use tocontrol user access and activities in the EIMA system 100. Theadministrator must have administrative rights to log on to SystemAdministration.

When a user logs on to the EIMA system 100, the system checks the user'spassword and capabilities and then grants access to programs based onthe user's security level or capabilities. The system administrator isresponsible for assigning capabilities to each group. Users cannot logon to the system until the system administrator has added the useraccount to System Administration.

The administrator can perform the following tasks in SystemAdministration: 1) create and manage user accounts, 2) create and managegroups, 3) assign groups to users, 4) set group permissions, 5) createfilters to control data access, 6) define weekends and holidays in thecalendar, and 7) create decision-making windows.

The System Administration module in the embodiment described herein,utilizes a Java Plug-in.

b. System Requirements

The table below lists the hardware and software requirements of aworkstation 115, for one embodiment, that calls System Administration.

TABLE 39 COMPONENT RECOMMENDATION Processor Pentium II or better, 200Mhz Minimum Hard 6-10 Megabytes Drive Space Recommended 64 MB RAMOperating Windows NT, Windows 95 and 98, Unix, Linux systems ScreenResolution 800 × 600 pixels. For instructions on changing your screenresolution, see Changing Your Screen Resolution. Web Browser InternetExplorer 5.5 or Netscape Navigator 4.7 Plug-ins Java ™ 2 RuntimeEnvironment, Standard Edition including the Java ™ Plug-in download. Formore information about this plug-in, please read Overview of the JavaPlug-in.c. Running System Administration

The first time the administrator logs on to the EIMA Web site, theadministrator will be prompted to download and install the Java Plug-inif it is not already installed on your computer. The Java Plug-in isrequired to run the System Administration applet.

To begin logging on to the EIMA system 100 (specifically the host server110), the administrator enters the address of the EIMA Web site in theAddress bar of the Web browser. After the login information has beenauthenticated, the administrator is able to access System Administrationand any other EIMA applications for which the administrator has beengranted permissions to use. The administrator must have administratorcapabilities to use System Administration.

d. Overview of the System Administration Screen

After the user launches System Administration, the System AdministrationMain Screen 1300 (FIG. 13) loads in the Web browser. For the embodimentshown, the System Administration screen is divided into two panes: theleft pane 1305 and the right pane 1310. A split bar 1315 separates thesetwo panes. Of course, other arrangements are possible.

The currently selected option in the left pane 1305 controls the contentof the right pane 1310. The left pane 1305 contains five main menuitems. Double-clicking a menu item in the left pane 1305 expands orcollapses the options under the menu item. The following main menu itemsare available in the left pane:

TABLE 40 ITEM DESCRIPTION User Admin Contains options for listing andadding user accounts Group Admin Contains options for listing and addinggroups Query Filter Contains options for listing and adding queryfilters Admin Calendar Contains an option for setting the decisioncontrol Admin calendar Decision Contains options for settingdecision-making time limits Window for exception items Admin

The right pane 1310 displays the tab or tabs for the selected option inthe left pane. Clicking a menu item option changes the content of theright pane 1310.

The split bar 1315 is the horizontal line that separates the left pane1305 and the right pane 1310. The administrator can adjust the size ofthe right and left panes by clicking-and-dragging the split bar to theright or left.

e. Java Plug-in

In one embodiment, System Administration is a Web-based Java applet thatis embedded in HTML, although other architectures can be used as well.The System Administration applet runs in a Web browser and is part ofthe EIMA system Web page. To run System Administration, the Java Plug-inshould be installed on the client workstation 115.

2. Listing Users

a. Overview of Users

The administrator can view user accounts and their descriptions in theUsers List. The User Name column contains the account name; theDescription column provides more details about the account.

The administrator performs the following acts to display all useraccounts:

-   -   If the User Admin options are not visible in the left pane, the        administrator double-clicks User Admin. The User Admin menu        expands.    -   The administrator clicks the List Users 1320 option. The User        List is displayed in the right pane 1310, as shown in FIG. 30.

A user is an individual who can log on to the EIMA Web site and performspecified activities in EIMA applications. Users with similar accessrights are usually members of the same group; however, a user may belongto more than one group. Group membership designates the activities thata user can perform in the EIMA system.

b. Adding a User

The administrator can begin to add a new user by clicking the Add Useroption 1325 under User Admin in the left navigation pane. Theadministrator supplies the following information for each new useraccount: 1) name of the account, 2) description, 3) password, and 4)group assignment. To assign a group to a user, the administrator shouldhave already added the group to System Administration.

The administrator performs the following acts to add a new user accountto the EIMA system:

-   -   If the Add User option 1325 in the left pane is not visible, the        administrator activates the User Admin option 1330. The User        Admin menu expands.    -   Under the User Admin menu, the administrator activates the Add        User option 1325. The User Information card 1400 displays in the        right pane 1310, as shown in FIG. 14.    -   In the User Name text box 1405, the administrator types the full        name of the user account. In the Password text box 1410, the        administrator types the password for the user account. In the        Confirm Password text box 1415, the administrator re-enters the        same password that was entered earlier. In the Description text        box 1420, the user types a description for the user account.    -   The administrator selects the appropriate options as needed:

TABLE 41 OPTION DESCRIPTION User Must This option forces the user tochange the account Change Password password the next time he or she logson to the EIMA at Next Logon system. By default, this option is alreadyselected. Account Disabled This option deactivates the user account anddoes not allow the user to log on to System Administration. PasswordNever This option lifts the x-day mandatory password Expires changeoption from the user account. The user will not be required to changetheir password after x days. User Cannot This option prevents the userfrom changing the Change Password account password.

The administrator clicks the Groups tab. The Groups card displays(discussed below).

The administrator clicks a group in the left box, then click the Addbutton. The group is added to the right list box and the user account isassigned to the group.

The administrator clicks the “Go” button 1425. The administrator canlater modify the user account.

c. Printing a User List Report

The administrator can print a report that lists all the users and groupsin the EIMA system 100. The first part of the report contains a list ofcurrent users; the second part of the report lists group information.The following data is included in the report: user name and description,group names, and password and account status of each group.

The administrator performs the following steps to print a User Listreport:

-   -   If the User Admin options are not visible in the left pane 1305,        the administrator double-clicks User Admin 1330. The User Admin        menu expands.    -   The administrator activates the List Users option 1320. The User        List is displayed in the right pane 1310.    -   Below the User List, the administrator clicks the Print User        List button 1335. The Print User List dialog box 1500 opens as        shown in FIG. 15.    -   In the Print User List dialog box, the administrator modifies        the following settings as needed.

TABLE 42 SECTION DESCRIPTION Orientation Select Portrait to print imagesacross the short side of Section the page. Select Landscape to printimages across the long side of the page. Margins Click the Unitsdown-arrow, then select a unit of Section measurement. Enter the desiredmargin sizes in the Left, Right, Top and Bottom text boxes. Click theResolution down-arrow, then select 150, 300 or 600. Select the Printmargins option to print the margins on the page. Text Click the Fontdown-arrow, then select a font for the report. Properties Select theSize down-arrow, then select the font Section size for the report.

In the Print User List dialog box, the administrator clicks the “Go”button 1505. The report is printed.

d. Removing a User Account

The administrator can permanently delete a user account using SystemAdministration. Deleting a user account prevents the user from loggingon to the EIMA system. User accounts are deleted in the Users card.

The administrator performs the following acts to remove a user accountusing System Administration:

-   -   If the User Admin options are not visible in the left pane 1305,        the administrator double-clicks User Admin 1330. The User Admin        menu expands.    -   Under User Admin, the administrator activates the List User        option 1320. The User List displays in the right pane 1310.    -   In the right pane 1310, the administrator clicks the row that        contains the user account to delete which highlights the row in        the user table.    -   The administrator activates the Deleted Selected User button        1340. The application deletes the user account and removes the        row from the user table.        e. Changing a User Password

There are two ways to change a user's password. As the systemadministrator, she can change a user's password from the Users card.Users also can change their own passwords.

f. User Information Card

(i) Overview of the User Information Card

The User Information card 1400 is where user account information isentered and modified. The User Information card is comprised of the Userand Group cards. The following table contains a description of thefields and options in the User card:

TABLE 43 FIELD OR OPTION DESCRIPTION User Name Enter a descriptive namefor the user account. Text Box Password Text Enter the password that theuser will use to log Box into the EIMA system. Confirm Re-enter the samepassword that was entered into the Password Password text box. Text BoxDescription Enter a word or phrase that further describes the user TextBox account. User Must Select this option to force a user to change hisor her Change password at next log on. Password at Next Login OptionAccount Select this option to prevent a user from logging on Disabled tothe EIMA system. Option Password Never Select this option to allow auser to log on the EIMA Expires Option system with the same password foran unlimited period of time. User Cannot Select this option to prevent auser from changing Change Password his or her password. Option

(ii) Overview of the Groups Card

The Groups card 1600 (FIG. 16) is where the administrator assigns orunassigns a group or groups to a user account. The following tablecontains a description of the Groups card's fields and options:

TABLE 44 FIELD OR OPTION DESCRIPTION User Name Displays the name of theuser account that is currently Field open for editing. AvailableContains a list of all groups in the EIMA system. Groups Depending onthe number of existing groups, you may List Box need to scroll throughthe list to see more group names. Add/Remove Clicking the Add buttonwhen a group is highlighted in the Buttons: Available Groups list boxmoves the group to the Selected Groups List. Clicking the Add All buttonmoves all groups to the Selected Groups List. Clicking the Move buttonwhen a group is highlighted in the Selected Groups list box moves thegroup to the Available Groups list box, and unassigns the group.Clicking the Move All button moves all groups in the Selected Groupslist box to the Available Groups list box. Selected Displays any groupsthat are currently assigned to the user. Groups List Box

3. Group Administration

a. Overview of Groups

A group is a collection of users with common capabilities andlimitations. Groups allow the administrator to control user access andactivity in the EIMA system 100. The Group Admin menu is located in theleft pane 1305 and contains options for creating and managing groups. Inone embodiment, the administrator can double-click Group Admin option1335 to expand or collapse its options.

A group is made up of the following information:

TABLE 45 INFORMATION DESCRIPTION Group name Name assigned to acollection of users. Description Provides additional information aboutthe group. This field also appears in the Group List window. AvailableSets the date range that group members can query Query Date documentitems. Range Capabilities Defines the activities group members canperform in the EIMA system. Capabilities also control what programsgroup members can access. Databases Lists the databases that groupmembers can query. Filters Restricts the information that group membershave access to. Users User accounts assigned to the group.b. Overview of Capabilities

A capability restricts or permits the activities that members of a groupcan perform in the EIMA system 100. Capabilities also control whatapplications a user can access. Capabilities are assigned at the grouplevel.

There are several predefined capabilities available in the Capabilitiescard of the Group Information tabbed pane 1705 (FIG. 17). Capabilitiesare assigned when the administrator creates or modifies a group.

The following table defines each of the predefined capabilities listedin the Capabilities card of the Group Information tabbed pane.

TABLE 46 CAPABILITY NAME DESCRIPTION ADMINISTRATION Can view and assigncategories to groups in the System Administration program. CONFIGURATIONCan see and select the Configuration category. DEFINE CALENDARS Candefine holiday and business days on the decision calendar and opendecision windows. DEFINE DECISION Can determine the amount of time for adecision WINDOWS window. DEFINE GROUPS Can create, change or deletegroups. DEFINE USERS Can create, change or delete users. EXPORT 8MM TAPECan select a customer profile that exports images to 8 MM tape. EXPORTCDROM Can create a customer profile that exports images to a CD-ROM.EXPORT DAT Can create a customer profile that exports images to DATtape. EXPORT DATABASE Can create a customer profile that exports imagesto a new database/cycle. EXPORT DISKETTE Can create a customer profilethat exports images to diskette. EXPORT DLT Can export images to DLTtape. EXPORT QIC TAPE Can create a customer profile that exports imagesto QIC tape. EXPORT REMOTE FAX Can create a customer profile thatexports images to a remote fax on the UNIX system. EXPORT REMOTE PRINTCan create a customer profile that exports images to a remote printer onthe UNIX system. EXPORT SQUARE TAPE Can create a customer profile thatexports images to square tape. EXPORT TAPE Can select a customer profilethat exports images to tape. EXPORT TRANSMIT Can create a customerprofile that exports images to a modem. IMMEDIATE REMOTE FAX Can submitfax job requests to the UNIX host system and bypass the ElectronicDistribution Menu. IMMEDIATE REMOTE Can submit print job requests to theUNIX host system PRINTER and bypass the Electronic Distribution Menu.NETQUERY Can access the NetQuery program and execute queries. QUERYGrants access to the Query module. The QUERY capability allows users tosee and to select the Query tab. SHOW DATABASE Can see and selectdatabases from the Available Databases and Assigned list boxes inNetQuery. SUPERUSER Can create, change or delete customer profiles andalso assign these profiles to any group. Users assigned to the SuperUsercapability have full viewing and reading abilities on all databases andcan export to all media types. SYSTEMADMINISTRATION Can access theSystem Administration program.c. Adding a Group

The administrator can begin to add a new group by clicking the AddGroups option under Group Admin 1335.

The administrator performs the following acts to add a new group toSystem Administration:

-   -   If the Group Admin options are not visible in the left pane, the        administrator double-clicks Group Admin option 1335. The Group        Admin menu expands.    -   The administrator activates the Add Groups option. The Group        control card 1700 displays in the right pane 1310 as shown in        FIG. 17.    -   In the Group Name text box 1705, the administrator types a name        for the group. In the Description text box 1710, the        administrator types a description for the group. In the        Available Query Date Range text box 1715, the administrator        types the number of days prior to the current date that he wants        group members to be able to query the selected databases.    -   The administrator clicks the Users tab. The administrator        activates a user account in the Available Users list box, then        activates the Add button. The administrator can repeat as        needed.    -   The administrator clicks the Documents tab. The administrator        activates a document type in the Available Documents list box,        then activates the Add button. The administrator can repeat as        needed.    -   The administrator clicks the Databases tab. The administrator        activates a database in the Available Databases box, then        activates the Add button. The database is added to the Selected        Databases list box. The administrator can repeat as needed.    -   The administrator clicks the Capabilities tab. The administrator        activates a capability in the Available Capabilities list box,        then activates the Add button. The administrator can repeat as        needed.    -   The administrator clicks the “Go” button 1720. The group is        saved and displayed in the Group List. The administrator can        later modify the Group.        d. Removing a Group

The administrator can delete a group from the EIMA system. Theadministrator performs the following steps to remove a group:

-   -   If the Group Admin options are not visible in the left        navigation pane 1305, the administrator double-clicks Group        Admin 1335. The Group Admin menu expands.    -   The administrator clicks the List Groups option. The Group List        card 1800 (FIG. 18) displays in the right pane 1310.    -   In the right pane 1320, the administrator activates the row that        contains the group the administrator wants to delete. The group        is highlighted in the group table.    -   The administrator activates the Delete Group button. The group        is deleted.        e. Group Information Card

(i) Overview of the Group Information Card

The Group Information card 1720 is where group account information isentered and modified. The Group Information card contains the followingcards: Group card, Users card, Documents card, Databases card, andCapabilities card.

(ii) Overview of the Group Control Card

The Group Control card 1700 is where the operator enters or views thename, description, and available query dates for a group account. TheGroup Control card 1700 is located in the Group Information card. Thefollowing table contains a description of the Group Control card'sfields and options:

TABLE 47 FIELD OR OPTION DESCRIPTION Group Name Enter a descriptive namefor the group account. Text Box Description Enter a word or phrase thatfurther describes the group. Text Box Available Enter the number of daysprior to the current date Query Date that you want group members to beable to query Range (in days) the selected databases. For example, youwould enter 10 in this text box if the administrator wanted users in thegroup to only have access to data that is dated 10 days from the currentday.

(iii) Overview of the Users Card

The Users card is where the administrator assigns users to and removeusers from a group, and is located in the Group Information card. Thefollowing table contains a description of the Users card's fields andoptions:

TABLE 48 FIELD OR OPTION DESCRIPTION Group Name Displays the name of thegroup account that is currently Text Box open for editing. AvailableContains a list of users in the EIMA system 100. Users List BoxAdd/Remove Clicking the Add button when a user is highlighted in theButtons Available Users list moves the user to the Selected Users list.Clicking the Add All button moves all users in the Available Users listto the Selected Users list. Clicking the Remove button when a user ishighlighted in the Selected Users list moves the user to the AvailableUsers list, unassigning the user from the group. Clicking the Remove Allbutton moves all users in the Selected Users list to the Available Userslist. Selected Users Displays users that are currently assigned or goingto be List Box assigned to the group account.

(iv) Overview of the Documents Card

The Documents card is where the administrator assigns a document type toor remove a document type from a group. The Documents card is located inthe Group Information card. The following table contains a descriptionof the Documents card's fields and options:

TABLE 49 FIELD OR OPTION DESCRIPTION Group Name Displays the name of thegroup account that is currently Text Box open for editing. AvailableContains a list of all document types in the EIMA system. Documents ListBox Add/Remove Clicking the Add button when a document is highlighted inButtons the Available Documents list moves the document to the SelectedDocuments list. Clicking the Add All button moves all documents in theAvailable Documents list to the Selected Documents list. Clicking theRemove button when a document is highlighted in the Selected Documentslist moves the document to the Available Documents list. Clicking theRemove All button moves all documents in the Selected Documents list tothe Available Documents list. Selected Displays all document types thatare currently assigned or Documents are going to be assigned to a groupaccount. List Box

(v) Overview of the Databases Card

The Databases card is where the administrator assigns a database to orremove a database from a group. The Databases card is located in theGroup Information card. The following table contains a description ofthe Databases card's fields and options:

TABLE 50 FIELD OR OPTION DESCRIPTION Group Name Displays the name of thegroup account Text Box that is currently open for editing. AvailableContains a list of all the databases in your Databases Titan system.List Box Add/Remove Clicking the Add button when a database is Buttonshighlighted in the Available Databases list moves the document to theSelected Databases list. Clicking the Add All button moves all databasesin the Available Databases list to the Selected Databases list. Clickingthe Remove button when a database is highlighted in the SelectedDatabases list moves the document to the Available Databases list.Clicking the Remove All button moves all documents in the SelectedDatabases list to the Available Databases list. Selected Displays alldatabases that are currently assigned Databases or are going to beassigned to a group account. List Box

(vi) Overview of the Capabilities Card

The Capabilities card is where the administrator assigns capabilities toor remove capabilities from a group. The Capabilities card is located inthe Group Information panel. The following table contains a descriptionof the Capabilities card's fields and options:

TABLE 51 FIELD OR OPTION DESCRIPTION Group Name Displays the name of thegroup account that Text Box is currently open for editing. AvailableContains a list of all the capabilities in your Titan Capabilitiessystem. List Box Add/Remove Clicking the Add button when a capability isButtons highlighted in the Available Capabilities list moves thecapability to the Selected Capabilities list. Clicking the Add Allbutton moves all capabilities in the Available Capabilities list to theSelected Capabilities list. Clicking the Remove button when a capabilityis highlighted in the Selected Capabilities list moves the capability tothe Available Capabilities list. Clicking the Remove All button movesall capabilities in the Selected Capabilities list to the AvailableCapabilities list. Selected Displays all capabilities that are currentlyassigned or are Capabilities going to be assigned to a group account.List Box

4. Query Filter Admin

a. Overview of Query Filters

A query filter selectively screens a group of users from queryingspecific data in a database cycle. The administrator can use queryfilters to limit a group's ability to retrieve and view only items thatmeet the conditions of the filter. Query filters are assigned at thegroup and document type levels. The administrator can use query filterswhen it is appropriate to limit user access to just a portion of thedocument items in a database.

The administrator assigns the following items when creating a queryfilter:

TABLE 52 ITEM DESCRIPTION Group The query filter is applied to alldatabases that are assigned to the group. Document type The type ofdocument the filter affects. The query filter is applied to alldatabases that contain the document type. Conditions A set ofrestrictions that identify the documents a group can retrieve or view.

For example, the administrator may not want a user group to be able toview all document items in a check cycle. To prevent the user group fromquerying and retrieving every document in the cycle, the administratorcan create a query filter that limits the group to retrieving onlydocument items within a range of routing numbers. This filter will beapplied to each database that is assigned to the user group and containsthe same document type.

b. Overview of Query Filter Conditions

Query filter conditions define the query restrictions of a filter. Acondition places a restriction that limits the values users can retrievefrom a query field. A condition can be as simple as restricting a groupfrom querying a range of account numbers or as complex as restricting agroup from querying specific values in several query fields. Theadministrator can place several conditions in the same query filter.

Conditions are entered in the Filter Conditions card. Prior to settingquery filter conditions, the operator should select the following items:the range of document items that you want to prevent the group fromretrieving, the range of document items that you want the group to beable to retrieve, the query fields that will be affected by theconditions, and how the conditions will be constructed in the FilterConditions grid. The administrator can use both comparison and logicaloperators to set field conditions. An operator is text that specifieswhat operation can be performed on the elements in a condition.

c. Overview of Comparison and Logical Operators

By using comparison and logical operators in query filter conditions,the administrator can restrict users from retrieving records thatcontain a particular query field value. Comparison and logical operatorscan be added to a query filter condition in the Filter Conditions grid.

A comparison operator compares two values and then returns an answerthat is based on the result of the comparison. Comparison operators areavailable in the first column of the Filter Conditions table. Clicking acell in this column opens a drop-down list of the following logicaloperators:

TABLE 53 OPERATOR DESCRIPTION Equal Retrieves records that contain anexact value in the current field. Greater Than Retrieves records thatare greater than a certain value in the current field. Less ThanRetrieves records that contain less than a certain value in the currentfield. Greater Than Retrieves records containing values that are greaterthan or Equal or equal to a certain value in the current field. LessThan Retrieves records containing values that are less than or Equal orequal to a certain value in the current field. Not Equal Retrievesrecords that do not equal a specified value for the current field. LikeRetrieves records that contain a string of values in the current field.Between Retrieves records containing values that fall between a range ofvalues in a certain field. When the Between operator is selected, theadministrator needs to enter a second value for the row in the Value2cell. The Value2 field is only active when the Between operator isselected.

A logical operator tests if a particular argument is true or false andthen performs an action based on the result. Logical operators areavailable in the Operators column in the Filter Conditions table. Theadministrator uses the following logical operators in a filtercondition:

TABLE 54 OPERATOR DESCRIPTION OR operator Use the OR operator to test ifone or another argument is true and then return any matching recordsthat contain either arguments. AND operator Use the AND operator to testif all arguments are true and then receive matching records that containthe argument. NOT operator Use the NOT operator to exclude an argumentfrom your query results and then receive only those records that do notcontain the argument. Parenthesis ( ) Use parenthesis to enclose alogical statement in an advanced query.d. Displaying Query Filters

The administrator can view a list of existing query filters in the QueryFilters card. The administrator performs the following acts to displaythe query filters list:

-   -   If the Query Filter Admin options are not visible in the left        pane, the administrator double-clicks the Query Filter Admin        option 1345. The Query Filter Admin menu expands.    -   The administrator activates a List Filters option. The Query        Filter List card displays in the right pane 1310, as shown in        FIG. 19.        e. Viewing Query Filter Information

The administrator can view existing query filters in the FilterInformation card 1905. The Filter Information card 1905 contains theQuery Filters and Filter Conditions tabs. The Query Filter tab containsthe following information: name and description of the query filter, andgroup and document type assignment.

The Filter Conditions tab contains the condition of the query filter.The administrator performs the following acts to view the settings foran existing query filter.

-   -   If the Query Filter Admin options are not visible in the left        pane, the administrator double-clicks the Query Filter Admin        option 1345. The Query Filter Admin menu expands.    -   The administrator activates the List Filters option. The Query        Filter List card 1905 displays in the right pane, as shown in        FIG. 19.    -   The administrator activates the row that contains the desired        query filter. The Filter Information card displays, as shown in        FIG. 20. To view the description, group and document type        fields, the administrator clicks the Query Filter tab. To view        the query filter conditions, the administrator clicks the Filter        Conditions tab.        f. Adding a Query Filter

The administrator can create a query filter to limit members of a groupfrom querying and viewing certain documents. Query filters are addedfrom the Query Filter List card. The administrator can set multipleconditions in the same query filter. The administrator performs thefollowing acts to create a query filter:

-   -   If the options under the Query Filter Admin menu are not        visible, the administrator double-clicks the Query Filter Admin        1345 in the left pane 1305.    -   In the left pane 1305, the administrator activates the Add        Filter option. The Filter Information card opens in the right        pane, as shown in FIG. 20.    -   In the Query Filter Name text box 2005, the administrator enters        a name for the query filter. In the Description text box, the        administrator enters a description for the query filter.    -   The administrator activates the Group down-arrow, and selects        the group to which he wants to assign the query filter.    -   The administrator activates the Document Type down-arrow, and        selects the document type. The filter only applies to the        document type that the administrator selects.    -   In the Filter Information card, the administrator clicks the        Filter Conditions tab. The Filter Conditions card 200 opens, as        shown in FIG. 21.    -   The administrator locates and scrolls to the query field that he        wants to set a condition on. Next to this query field, he clicks        in the Logical Operators column 2105. A drop-down list of        logical operators opens. The administrator selects a logical        operator from the drop-down list.    -   The administrator enters an appropriate value in the Value1 cell        2120.    -   If needed, the administrator enters an appropriate value in the        Value2 cell 2125.    -   The administrator can repeat the above acts as needed.    -   The administrator clicks the “Go” button 2130 and the query        filter is created.

The administrator can change the definition of a query filter. Thefollowing query filter settings can be modified: description, group,document type, and conditions.

g. Query Filter Information Card

(i) Overview of the Query Filter Information Card

The Query Filter Information card 2000 is where query filter informationand conditions are entered and modified. The Query Filter Informationcard 2000 includes the Query Filter and Filter Condition cards.

(ii) Overview of the Query Filter Card

The Query Filter card is where the administrator enters query filtersettings. The following table contains a description of the fields inthe Query Field card:

TABLE 55 FIELD OR OPTION DESCRIPTION Query Filter Name Text Box Enter adescriptive name for the query filter. Description Text Box Enter a wordor phrase that further describes the query filter. Group List Box Clickthe Group down-arrow and then select a group name. The query filter willbe assigned to the selected group. Document Type List Box Click theDocument Type down-arrow and then select a document type. The queryfilter will be applied to the selected document type.

(iii) Overview of the Filter Conditions Card

After setting up the name, description, group, and document type for aquery filter, the administrator can define the filter's conditions.Filter conditions allow the administrator to restrict the document itemsthat a group can query and view. Filter conditions are entered in theFilter Conditions grid.

A condition limits the values users can retrieve from a query field byspecifying criteria on a particular query field in a table. Conditionsare applied to any databases that are assigned to the selected group andcontain the selected document type and query field.

The Filter Conditions grid contains the following columns:

TABLE 56 COLUMN DESCRIPTION Op column Clicking in this column opens adrop-down list of logical operators. FieldName column Contains the queryfields on which you can set conditions. The administrator can change thecurrently displayed query field by clicking in this column and thenselecting a different field. Operators column Contains comparisonoperators. Clicking in this column opens a drop-down list of comparisonoperators. Value1 and Value2 Enter the numerical or text values columnsthat restrict what query field values the group can query.

5. Calendar Administration

a. Overview of the Decision Calendar

The decision calendar is an electronic calendar that is used to schedulea company's decision-making and non-decision making days in the EIMAsystem. The calendar works with decision windows to control when userscan make decisions on positive pay products in the NetQuery program.

Decision windows rely on the electronic calendar's settings to determinedecision and non-decision making days. The administrator defines thecompany's calendar year on the electronic decision calendar beforecreating a decision window.

The administrator does not need to set the decision calendar if aninstitution is not using NetQuery's positive pay module.

On the Decision Control Calendar 2200 (FIG. 22), each square block (e.g.square 2205) designates a day of the month. Calendar days arehighlighted white, green, blue or red. Of course other colors orindicators can be used. The color of a square indicates whether the dayis a business day, holiday, Saturday or Sunday. The legend to the rightof the calendar identifies what each color represents. In the embodimentdescribed herein, the Table below defines each color.

TABLE 57 COLOR DESCRIPTION White Business/decision-making days BlueHoliday/non-decision making days Red Saturday/non-decision making dayGreen Sunday/non-decision making day

By default, the following days are scheduled as decision-making days onthe calendar: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Theadministrator can change the status of a day by activating its square onthe calendar. Changes are applied to the current month by clicking theModify Current Month Definition button 2210. The administrator canreverse edits by clicking the Reset Calendar button 2215.

By default, users are unable to make decisions on Saturdays, Sundays,and holidays. To allow users to make decisions on Saturdays, Sundays orholidays, the administrator should change the day's color to white.

6. Decision Window Administration

a. Overview of Decision Windows

A decision window defines the time frame that a group can make pay or nopay decisions on exception items in the NetQuery program. Decisionwindows allow the administrator to control the exact dates and timesthat a group can make decisions on positive pay items.

When the administrator creates a decision window, he will need toprovide the following information: name and description of the decisionwindow, group and document type assignment, conditions of the window(start and end times), and possible override conditions.

b. Listing Decision Windows

The administrator can view existing decision windows in the DecisionWindow List 2300 (FIG. 23). The following information is shown: the nameof the decision window, description, and the assigned document type andgroup. The administrator performs the following acts to display alldecision windows:

-   -   If the List Decision Window option is not visible in the left        pane, the administrator double-clicks the Decision Window Admin        option 1350. The Decision Window Admin menu expands.    -   The administrator activates the List Decision Window option. The        Decision Window List 2300 is displayed in the right pane, as        shown in FIG. 23.        c. Overview of Window Conditions

A window condition sets the duration of a decision window by definingthe window's start and end times. The administrator enters windowconditions in the Window Conditions card.

The following paragraphs define the fields in the Window Conditionscard.

Start Delay Text Box

The administrator enters the number of days from today's date forward onwhich the administrator wants the decision window to go into effect.Entering “0” applies the decision window immediately (today). Weekendsand holidays are not counted toward the start delay time.

Start Time Text Box

The start time determines the time that users can begin to makedecisions on exception items in NetQuery. The administrator enters theexact time that he wants the decision window to be applied and thenselects AM or PM from the drop-down list to the right of the field.

Days Open Text Box

The Days Open and Time Open text boxes work together to calculate theduration of a decision window. In the Days Open text box, theadministrator enters the total number of days that he wants the decisionwindow to last.

Time Open Text Box

If the administrator wants to extend the length of a decision window bya few or several hours, he enters the number of hours in the Time Opentext box. This entry is based on a 24-hour clock.

Example Date Text Box

This text box defaults to the current date. This value is used tocalculate the start date of the decision window in the Translation ofDecision Window text box.

Translation of Decision Window Text Box

This text box is for viewing purposes. After entering values in theWindow Condition section, the administrator has the option of clickingthe “Go” button to display a summary of his decision window settings inthe Translation of Decision Window text box. If there is an error in thesummary, he can make the appropriate corrections.

d. Overview of Override Conditions

The administrator can “override” or “supersede” the conditions of adecision window by entering an exception time in the Override Conditionsection of the Window Conditions card. An override condition extends thedecision-making time frame of a decision window.

The following paragraphs define the fields in the Override Conditionsection of the Window Conditions card.

Date Text Box

The administrator enters the date that he wants to be used to calculatethe start date for the override.

Start Delay Text Box

The administrator enters the number of days forward from the datedisplayed in the Date text box on which you want the override to go intoeffect.

Start Time Text Box

The start time determines the time that the override condition begins.The administrator enters the exact time that he wants the override to beapplied to the decision window and then select AM or PM from thedrop-down list to the right of the field.

Days Open Text Box

The Days Open and Time Open text boxes work together to calculate theduration of the override condition. In the Days Open text box, theadministrator enters the total number of days that he wants the overridecondition to last.

Time Open Text Box

If the administrator wants to extend the length of an override conditionby a few or several hours, he enters the number of hours in the TimeOpen text box.

e. Creating a Decision Window

The administrator can begin to create a decision window by clicking theAdd Decision Window option under Decision Window Admin in the left pane.The administrator should supply the following information for thedecision window: name and description, group and document typeassignment, window permissions, start date and duration of the window,and possible override conditions.

The operator performs the following acts to create a decision window:

-   -   If the Add Decision Window option in the left pane is not        visible, the administrator double-clicks the Decision Window        Admin option 1350. The Decision Window Admin menu expands.    -   Under the Decision Window Admin menu, the administrator        activates the Add Decision Window option. The Decision Window        Information card 2400 displays in the right pane 1310, as shown        in FIG. 24.    -   In the Decision Window Name text box 2405, the administrator        enters a name for the decision window. In the Description text        box 2410, the administrator enters a brief description for the        window.    -   The administrator clicks the Group down-arrow 2415 and selects a        group assignment for the decision window.    -   The administrator clicks the Document Type down-arrow 2420 and        selects a document type assignment for the decision window.    -   The administrator selects or deselects the following decision        window options as needed:

TABLE 58 DECISION WINDOW DESCRIPTION Decision Allowed When this optionis selected, decisions can be made. When this option is not selected,decisions cannot be made for this document type. Specify Decision WindowSelect this option to establish a time limit for decisions. When thisoption is not selected, decisions can be made continuously without atime restriction.

-   -   The administrator clicks the Window Conditions tab. The Window        Conditions card 2500 displays, as shown in FIG. 25.    -   In the Start Delay text box 2505, the administrator enters the        number of days from today on which he wants the decision window        to go into effect. Enter “0” to apply the decision window        immediately (today).    -   In the Start Time text box 2510, the administrator enters the        exact time that he wants the decision window to start.    -   In the Days Open text box 2515, the administrator enters the        total number of 24-hour days that the decision window should        last. If this time is less than 24-hours, enter “0” and then        enter the number of hours in the Time Open text box.    -   In the Time Open text box 2520, the administrator enters an        additional number of hours for the decision window to extend the        decision window by a few or several hours. These hours are added        to the number of days already entered in the Days Open text box.    -   In the Window Condition section, the administrator activates the        “Go” button 2525. The site displays a summary of the decision        window conditions in the Translation of Decision Window text box        2530. The administrator verifies that the text in the        Translation of Decision Window text box 2530 is correct. If the        translation is incorrect, the administrator returns to the        appropriate text boxes and modify the values. If the        administrator is satisfied with the decision window, he saves        the decision window and displays the new window in the Decision        Window List 2300.        f. Overriding a Decision Window

The administrator can make exceptions to the duration of a decisionwindow by entering override conditions in the Override Condition sectionof the Window Conditions card. The administrator should have alreadycreated or started creating a decision window. The Window Conditionscard should be open. In the Override Condition section, theadministrator performs the following acts to add override conditions toa decision window:

-   -   In the Date text box, the administrator enters the date that he        wants to be used to calculate the start date for the override.    -   In the Start Delay text box, the administrator enters the number        of days from the current date on which he wants the override to        go into effect. Enter “0” to apply the override immediately        (today).    -   In the Start Time text box, the administrator enters the start        time for the override.    -   In the Days Open text box, the administrator enters the number        of days that he wants the override to last.    -   In the Time Open text box, the administrator enters the        additional number of hours that he wants the override to last.    -   In the Window Conditions card, the administrator clicks the Go        button. Saves the changes to the decision window and displays        the Decision Window List card.        g. Modifying a Decision Window

The administrator can edit the definition of an existing decisionwindow. To begin editing a decision window, the administratordouble-clicks the decision window row in the Decision Window List orclicks the decision window row and then click the Modify Decision Windowbutton 2305.

The operator performs the following acts to modify a decision window:

-   -   If the List Decision Window option is not visible in the left        pane 1305, the administrator double-clicks Decision Window Admin        1350. The Decision Window Admin menu expands.    -   The administrator clicks the List Decision Window option. The        Decision Window List 2300 displays in the right pane, as shown        in FIG. 23.    -   The administrator clicks the row that contains the decision        window he wants to modify. The row is selected.    -   The administrator clicks the Modify Decision Window button 2305.        The Decision Window Information card 2400 opens.    -   The administrator edits the text boxes that contain the values        he wants to change.    -   The administrator can click the Window Conditions tab. The        Window Conditions card 2500 opens.    -   The administrator can then edit the text boxes that contain the        values he wants to change.    -   After modifying the decision window, the administrator clicks        the “Go” button 2535. The changes are saved to the decision        window.        h. Decision Window Information Card

(i) Overview of the Decision Window Information Card

The Decision Window Information card is where decision windowinformation and conditions are entered and modified. The Decision WindowInformation card is comprised of the Decision Window and WindowConditions cards.

(ii) Overview of the Decision Window Card The Decision Window card iswhere the administrator enters or views the name, description, and othersettings for a decision window. The Decision Window card is located inthe Decision Window Information card. The following table contains adescription of the fields and options in the Decision Window card:

TABLE 59 FIELD OR OPTION DESCRIPTION Decision Window Enter a descriptivename for the decision Name Text Box window in the Decision Window Nametext box. Description Text Box Enter a word or phrase that describes thedecision window. Group Down Arrow Click the Group down arrow to view andthen select the group that you want the decision window to be applied.Document Type Down Click the Document Type down arrow to Arrow view andthen select the document type that will be affected by the decisionwindow. Decision Allowed Select this option to allow users in the Optionselected group to make decisions on items in the document type. Whenthis option is not selected, decisions cannot be made for this documenttype. Specify Decision Select this option to establish a time limitWindow Option for decisions. When this option is not selected, decisionscan be made continuously without any time restrictions.

(iii) Overview of the Window Conditions Card

The Window Conditions card is where the administrator enters criteriasettings for a decision window, and is located in the Decision WindowInformation card. The following table explains the fields and options inthe Window Conditions card of the Window Conditions section:

TABLE 60 FIELD OR OPTION DESCRIPTION Start Delay Text Box Enter thenumber of days forward that the administrator wants the decision windowto go into effect. This number will be added to the date that isdisplayed in the Example Date text box. Enter “0” to have the decisionwindow applied on the same date that appears in the Example Date textbox. Start Time Text Box Enter the exact time that the administratorwants the decision window to start. Click the Start Time down-arrow andthen select AM or PM. Days Open Text Box Enter the total number of24-hour days that the decision window should last. If this time is lessthan 24-hours, enter “0” and then enter the number of hours in the TimeOpen text box. Time Open Text Box Enter the additional number of hoursthat the administrator wants to extend the decision window by. Thesehours are added to the number of days already entered in the Days Opentext box. Example Date Text By default, the current date is displayedBox in this text box. Enter the date that the administrator wants to beused as the base start date for the decision window. Translation of Youcan click the Save Record (e.g., Go) button. Decision Window TheTranslation of Decision Window feature Text Box is provided to assistthe administrator in determining if his window conditions are correct.If he finds that the translation displayed in this text box isincorrect, the administrator will review and then edit the appropriatefields in the Window Condition section.

The following table explains the fields and options in the OverrideCondition Section.

TABLE 61 FIELD OR OPTION DESCRIPTION Date Text Box Enter the date thatthe administrator wants to be used to calculate the start date of theoverride. Start Delay Text Box Enter the number of days forward from thedate displayed in the Date text box on which the administrator wants theoverride to go into effect. Enter “0” to have the override take effecton the same date that appears in the Date text box. Start Time Text BoxEnter the start time for the override. Days Open Text Box Enter thenumber of days that the administrator wants the override to last. TimeOpen Text Box Enter the additional number of hours that theadministrator wants the override to last.E. Repair Graphical User Interface (GUI)

1. Introduction to Repair GUI

a. Overview of Repair GUI

The functions of the Repair GUI are similar to the MICR Repair andQuality Monitor modules in that Repair GUI helps control the quality ofthe Image Capture process by allowing the user to view images as well ascorrect MICR field data. The Repair GUI may also be customized to meetspecific needs.

The Repair GUI has two operating modes: Repair mode and Monitor mode.When the user logs into the Repair GUI, the user chooses whether to useits monitor or repair capabilities. The user enters the Repair mode tocorrect any scanning errors that corrupted MICR data. The user may alsouse it after the image matching (Image Match) process to correct freeitems. The fields that appear in the Repair GUI are defined by a systemadministrator.

During Image Capture, the user can enter Monitor mode to display samplesof the images as they are scanned. If the user spots scanning errors,the scanner can be adjusted, enabling immediate correction.

b. Terminology

In general, UNIX menus refer to databases and cycles, while some PCapplications (including Repair GUI) refer to set names and set dates. Ingeneral, the following terms are defined as below.

TABLE 62 TERM DESCRIPTION Set Name (or just A Database that has beenmatched (or entered). Set) Set Date The Cycle of the Database that wasmatched. Database Usually refers to a superset (a container) fordatabase files. In Repair GUI it is the generic name given to a group ofcycles, all contained under the database name. It is analogous to anamed directory or folder, which contains a number of related files.Cycle Refers to a database file name, which is based on a date/cycle ofdocument scanning. Generally the cycle is the calendar-based date thescan is run, and is incremented daily. The format varies, but is usuallyof the form year-month-day. With this format a scan database run on 3Jan. 2000 will be the cycle value 20000103. However, the specifics ofthe format and value will depend on institution's requirements. Freeitems Are those items that were scanned into the cycle but not listed inthe Match Control File. Match Control Is a database file containing theinformation required File (MCF) to relate a scanned image to the MICRdata for each scanned object. Objects Refers to scanned documents, suchas checks. The term is also applied to the database representation ofthese documents, both image and MICR data. MICR Is the acronymabbreviation for magnetic ink character recognition. Magnetic ink isused for printing on checks and similar documents, thus recordinginformation in a machine-readable format. In the case of checks and someother documents it is often in a form that is also readable to humans.Sometimes the magnetic ink becomes smudged or otherwise damaged and themachine cannot read this information reliably. In these cases the datarepresenting the scanned document (e.g. a check) is recorded (flagged)as in need of repair. A human operator is then called on to determinethe correct information and enter that correct information using RepairGUI's MICR Repair function (Repair). Timeout value Is the number ofseconds that the Repair GUI will wait for a response from the serverbefore it prompts the user for a choice of either canceling an action orcontinuing to wait on its completion.c. How Repair Works

Repair mode is used for correcting any scanning errors detected by ImageCapture or Image Match. The corrections are made to the database index,which is where the data is stored. The database index contains the imagelocation, MICR data, and any other data associated with the image.Repair is usually performed any time after Image Capture has detectedfaulty data or to correct free items remaining after Image Match.

During Image Capture, the scanner scans the items (documents, such aschecks) and reads the MICR data. MICR data is the record of field valuesfor a number of variables printed (in magnetic ink) in specificlocations on the original document. Field values may include accountnumbers, check numbers and related data, depending on specifics of thedocuments recorded, and the customer requirements. The scanned digitalimages and associated MICR data are sent to the UNIX host, where ImageCapture stores the images in an image database and records the imagelocation and associated field value data in the database index.

Image Capture passes the data through a series of validations.Validation fails if there is one or more unreadable characters, amissing field, or the number of characters is incorrect. The data mayfail validation because the scanner did not read it correctly.Situations that may result in unreadable data include: a document is fedat an angle into the camera area, labels are incorrectly placed, or theimage has marks or scratches across the MICR data area.

If any of these situations should occur, it becomes necessary to fix thedata contained in the database index file. The index is flagged for eachimage that has a detected problem.

During repair, each index item needing repair is displayed on theworkstation one at a time. The operator enters the missing or correcteddata. The scanned images themselves are not changed. Instead, the datastored in the database index is corrected.

2. Repair GUI/Host System

a. Starting and Killing the Repair Server

Before starting a Repair GUT session on the workstation, the user shouldfirst start the repair server. Starting the repair server was discussedearlier. After the user is finished with the Repair GUT session, theuser kills (i.e., stops) the repair server.

3. Repair GUI/PC Module

a. Starting Repair GUT

The Repair GUT Repair mode can be used anytime after Image Captureidentifies an item with duplicate or unreadable data. If the user needsto enter data for an empty field or to edit other data that the systemhas not tagged as needing repair, he creates a Repair Set while inMonitor mode. From the workstation, the user initiates Repair byperforming the acts below:

-   -   Ensure that the PC workstation is powered on, Windows is        running, and the repair server is started. The user then starts        the Repair GUI.    -   Once the Repair GUT application is running, the user logs in.        Two login branches are available at this point: Standard login,        which assumes that the Host, Port number, and Timeout value, are        already set and appropriate; and Advanced login, which permits        changes to server, including Host, Port number, and/or Timeout        value.    -   The user chooses a type of login and enters his User Name and        Password. The Repair function is now active.    -   From the Main Menu, the user selects a Session/Get Set Names        option. The Repair List window appears.    -   From the Repair List window, the user selects the SetName,        SetDate and Batch ID he wishes to repair. The document type of        each set is also displayed in this window. In this list the user        is permitted to see only those sets the user group(s) that he        belongs to as a Repair GUI user. The user groups are established        by the system administrator.    -   After the user has made his selection of SetName, SetDate, and        Batch ID, the images and editable data will appear.        b. Navigating Repair GUI

The Repair GUI main screen contains the image(s) and the image'srespective associated field data. The user can cycle through the imagesand change field data by use of various image controls. The screenincludes two image windows. The image displayed in the first windowdefaults to the object's front view. The image displayed in the secondimage window defaults to the back view. The user can force the imageback view to appear in the first window, by selecting Options/SwapImage. The user may also specify a third image window.

The user can also enlarge and shrink the image windows and arrange themas desired by clicking and pulling on the window's borders. Further, theuser can also click and drag the mouse to zoom in on a specificrectangular section of an image.

The user can browse through the images and further manipulate them byclicking on image manipulation buttons. The following table explains thenavigational functions of the various buttons in the image windows:

TABLE 63 FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION BUTTON NAME OF BUTTON First Item buttonReturns to and displays the first image (and associated data) in thecurrently selected set, cycle and batch. Previous Item button Displaysthe previous image (and associated data). Next Item button Displays thenext image (and associated data). Fit current image in The user clicksthis button after he has window button zoomed in and wishes to view theimage at normal size again. Rotate Clockwise button Rotates the currentimage 90 degrees clockwise. Rotate Counter-clockwise Rotates the currentimage 90 degrees button counter-clockwise. Mirror Horizontally Mirrorsthe current image around the button horizontal axis. Mirror Verticallybutton Mirrors the current image around the vertical axis.c. Creating Shortcuts

Repair GUI contains two separate types of keyboard shortcuts: Old StyleShortcuts and Stored Field Values shortcuts. Old Style Shortcuts areshortcuts that are set by the software. Stored Field Value shortcuts arecreated by the user.

Stored Field Value shortcuts are useful if the user uses certain fieldsthat consistently contain the same values. Simple keystroke shortcutsallow the user to enter the field values he sets for each keyboardshortcut. For the embodiment described herein, the shortcuts involvespressing the <CTRL> key and a single-digit number. For instance, theuser can define a stored field value so that when he hits <CTRL>+1, thefield is filled with the pre-set Value.

To define Stored Field Value shortcuts, the user performs the followingacts:

-   -   From the main menu, the user selects an Edit Stored Field Values        option. The Stored Field Values dialog box appears.    -   In a Field column, the user enters a field number (1 through 0)        to be associated with the keyboard shortcut. Field numbers        correspond to the order the fields are listed on-screen.        Therefore, if the user is attempting to set up a shortcut for        the Account field, and this is the first field listed on-screen,        then he would put a 1 in the Field column next to whatever        shortcut he likes. It is recommended that the user uses <CTRL>+1        for the first field, <CTRL>+2 for the second field, etc. The        zero in the Field column indicates the 10th field.    -   In the Value column on the right, the user enters the values he        wishes to insert when he hits the respective shortcut keys. The        values may contain numbers or letters and should be as long as        the field in which they are going to be inserted.    -   The administrator clicks “OK” to accept the shortcuts, or clicks        “Cancel” to reject them. These shortcut values are saved by the        Repair GUI and remain until they are changed.        d. Repairing Items

After the user selects the repair set, he can resize the image bydragging the borders of the window. The user can also resize the Fieldswindow so that the fields are more visible.

For each image, the user examines the field data in the information lineand edit that data as needed. The user may define special charactersthat appear in place of unclear and missing characters using theparameters file that is associated with each database. For instance, theuser might use an “!” to appear in place of unclear characters and an“M” in place of missing characters.

The user clicks the Update button to save changes and move to the nextitem. If the user is uncertain whether the item needs updating, the usercan click “Skip” to move the current item to the end of the file. If anitem does NOT need updating, the user clicks Update without makingchanges, so the item does not reappear.

If certain fields have been defined as “Mandatory”, the user will not beable to proceed if a Mandatory field contains no data. If the userclicks Update, the user will receive a warning message. (e.g., “Thisoperation will permanently remove this item. Continue? You will beunable to proceed to the next item until you select either Yes or No.”)

The Fields window's title bar lists the errors contained in the currentbatch. When the user clicks the Update button, this number decreases.

When there is no longer a number in the title bar of the Fields window,the current batch has been totally repaired. Additionally, no imageswill appear on-screen.

e. Deleting Items

To delete the current image, along with its accompanying data, the userclicks the Delete button. Since this will permanently delete the itemfrom the database, a confirmation request message appears. The item isremoved from the database when the user confirms the request.

f. Customizing Repair GUI

Within repair GUI, the user has options to customize the application.These are available from the Options menu. These options are availablefor both Repair and Monitor modes. The following is a list of availableoptions:

TABLE 64 OPTION DESCRIPTION Login on Startup Automatically causes theLogin window to appear after the user launches the application. Savesthe extra step of clicking the Login button. Get Sessions Automaticallycauses the Repair List window to After Login display after the user logsin, so he can immediately choose a Set Name, Date and Batch. ConfirmThis will cause a dialogue box to appear, Disconnect on to confirm thatthe user wants to exit Exit the program. Auto GetFirst on If this optionis selected, the first image is GetSession automatically displayed aftera set has been selected. If this option is not selected, when a newcycle is selected any image on-screen from the previous cycle willremain on the screen until the First Item button is clicked. One StepCycle Main Menu/Option/One Step Cycle Selection is a Selection usefultool when the user has many cycles and databases on the system. If theOne Step Cycle Selection is selected, then all database names, cycles,and batch id's are displayed at once. If One Step Cycle Selection is notselected, then only the database names are listed. Select the database,and then all the cycles for that database will be displayed. Next,select a cycle, and all the batch id's display. Finally, select thebatch id the user wants.

For the embodiment described herein, these preferences are automaticallysaved to the registry so that next time you run the application theywill be loaded.

g. Available Options

The following table describes various options available in Repair GUI.

TABLE 65 MENU SELECTION/ BUTTON DESCRIPTION Session or Login Log in toRepair GUI in either Repair or Monitor Button mode. Session or SelectSelect the Set Name, Date and Batch of images Repair Set Button the userwishes to repair or monitor. Session or Logout Logs out of the currentmode. Button Session/Exit Exits Repair GUI. Options/Login onAutomatically causes the Login window to appear Startup after you launchthe application. Saves the user the extra step of clicking the Loginbutton. Options/Get Sessions Automatically causes the Repair List windowto After Login display after you login, so the user can immediatelychoose a Set, Name, Date and Batch. Options/Confirm This causes adialogue box to appear confirming Disconnect on Exit that the user wantsto exit the program. Options/Reset Window If the images begin to displayimproperly because Positions of re-sizing of windows, select this optionto correct the problem. Options or Set Timer Set the delay before imageupdates in seconds. Button Options/Swap Images Swaps back and front ofimage in the current view. Options/Auto GetFirst If this option isselected, the first image is on GetSession automatically displayed aftera set has been selected. Options/Advanced/ Marks a subset of items forrepair. When this Create Repair Set option is selected, the user canspecify a search criterion that will mark the appropriate fields forrepair. Options/Advanced/ Deselects the items marked by Create RepairSet. Delete Repair Set Options/Advanced/ Enables the user to definegroups of fields that Class Groups appear in the Repair GUI. Options orDelete Deletes image and data currently on-screen. Button Options/EditStored Allow the user to create shortcuts for fields that Field Valuesrepeatedly have the same data. Options/Enable Old When this is checked,the user can use <Page Style Shortcuts Down> to fill all the viewablefields with nines, or use <Page Up> to blank out the current field.First Image Button First Image Button. Displays first image andassociated data in database. Last Image Button Displays last image andassociated data in database. Previous Image Button Displays previousimage and associated data in database. Next Image Button Displays nextimage and associated data in database. Scale to Fit Button Fits image incurrent window. Used to display image at normal size after zooming in onimage. Rotate Clockwise Rotates image 90 degrees clockwise. ButtonRotate Counter- Rotates image 90 degrees counter-clockwise. clockwiseButton Mirror Horizontally Mirrors the current image around thehorizontal Button axis. Mirror Vertically Mirrors the current imagearound the vertical Button axis. Update Button Click after correctingfield data. Skip Button If field data is OK, click to skip to the nextimage in database.

4. Monitor Mode

a. Overview of Monitor Mode

Repair GUI's Monitor mode is used in conjunction with the UNIX-basedImage Capture program to monitor the documents scanned into databasefiles. This option helps to ensure the accuracy of the data. The usercan compare the data recorded from the scanning operation to the data onthe associated image. By doing spot checks the user can detect scanningerrors or burned out scanner light bulbs, and reset the scanner ifnecessary.

There are two ways to use the monitor capability: while the items arebeing scanned and after items have been scanned into a database. TheRepair GUI should not be started until after capture has begun. This isbecause the capture process creates the Batch ID that the Repair GUIneeds in order to retrieve the images.

b. Initiating Image Capture

The operator performs the following acts to initiate Image Capture:

-   -   At the UNIX host system, from the Capture/Browse Images Menu,        the user starts Image Capture. The user enters a database/cycle        name for the group of images to be scanned.    -   At the PC workstation, the user selects the Repair GUI        application.    -   Once Repair GUI is running, the user clicks the Login button.        The Login window appears.    -   The user then enters the User Name and Password, and selects        Monitor Mode. If the user wishes to change the server, he clicks        the Advanced button and specify the Host, Port Number and the        Timeout value.    -   The user clicks “OK” to finish the login.    -   At the main window, the user clicks the Select Repair Set button        or select Session/Get Set Names. The Repair List window appears.    -   Highlight the SetName, SetDate and Batch to work with. This will        be the same name as chosen in step 2 for the database cycle        name.    -   The user clicks Select to continue and start the scanning        operation.    -   The user views selected document images. During Image Capture,        to view the images on the PC as they are scanned, the user        clicks the Repair GUI buttons to change images as described        above. The user can also set the timer to automatically update        the images for spot checking image quality. The Repair GUI        monitor then displays a sampling of the images after they are        added to the database.    -   When the user has finished viewing images, he selects        Session/Exit.        c. Setting the Timer

The Monitor mode timer can be set to display a new scanned image atintervals (integer seconds) controlled by the user. To set the timer,the user should already have selected a SetName, SetDate and Batchrepair set. If the timer is set when the scanner is not running, thenthe same image will be refreshed, over and over as long as the buttonremains active.

d. Reviewing Previously Scanned Documents

The process is the same as for reviewing scanning images (InitiatingImage Capture) except there is no need to start the scanner.Additionally, there is no need to set the timer since all the imageshave already been scanned. The user can use the navigation buttons toview the images.

In one embodiment, the Field portion of the screen is “greyed-out” whenin Monitor mode (instead of having a “white background” as during Repairmode). This is to prevent the user from editing fields in Monitor Mode.Instead, the user is simply viewing the images and their associateddata. If there is a need to edit field data, the user uses the Repairmode.

5. Repair Sets

a. Overview of Repair Sets

For the system described herein, there are two methods available forupdating field data: Batch Update (discussed earlier), and Repair GUI.Repair GUI allows the user to create repair sets. Repair sets let theuser mark a subset of items in a cycle for repair. The user creates therepair sets while in Monitor mode, but the repair sets the user createsare accessed and modified in Repair mode.

The repair set process works in much the same way as a query filter. Theuser may want to repair only images that have amounts between $100 and$500, for instance, or to repair images that have only a particularserial number (or series of serial numbers). If an item in a cycle fitsthe criteria defined for the repair set, it is “tagged” as having anerror. The user can delete the repair set later, and subsequently“un-tag” the items.

b. Creating Repair Sets

The user performs the following acts to create a Repair Set:

-   -   The user logs into Monitor Mode and clicks on the Select Repair        Set button to open the Repair List window.    -   The user clicks on a Set Name.    -   The user selects the Repair Set option to mark a subset of items        for repair (thus creating a repair set). A Repair Items Criteria        window appears, which displays a vertical column list of fields        that are open for repair. The user can use that list of fields        to filter the items to be repaired. The list contains three        columns from left to right: Field, Operator, and Value.    -   To create a selection criteria expression for a repair set, the        user double-clicks on one of the field names in the Field        column. A window for that field appears to allow the user to        create an item filter expression for the field.    -   The user selects an operator to use to filter items.    -   The user types a value into the blank box that appears to the        right of the Operator selection buttons.

Operator definitions are provided below.

TABLE 66 OPERATOR DEFINITION = equal to != not equal to < less than >greater than =< less than or equal to >= greater than or equal to

If the user selects equal to (=) or not equal to (!=), a Range check boxwill appear, for specifying a range of values. To specify a range forthe field, click the Range check box. The window is then enhanced with apair of data entry windows, so the user can enter the minimum andmaximum values in the spaces provided. For convenience, in the windowspace below the range values, the Amount window will display anypreviously entered ranges from which the user may select.

For example, if the user needs to create a repair set that includes allcapture dates between Jan. 1 and Jan. 15 of the year 2000. In thisexample, the user selects the Operator=(equals) and clicks the Rangecheck box that appears. When the user clicks the Range box, twounlabeled data entry windows will also appear. In the left data entrywindow the user enters 0000000020000101 (year 2000, 1^(st) month, 1^(st)day). In the right data entry window the user enters 0000000020000115(year 2000, 1^(st) month, 15^(th) day).

-   -   The user clicks OK to return to the Repair Items Criteria        window. Repeat the procedure for any other available fields, as        needed.    -   When finished, the user clicks “OK”. Clicking “OK” starts the        process that marks the applicable items for repair.

6. Class Groups

a. Overview of Class Groups

The Class Groups option enables the user to define the fields thatappear for each document or image class in the system.

The user may classify fields as:

TABLE 67 FIELDS DESCRIPTION Mandatory The field must be filled and maynot be left empty. Optional The field is available for edit, but thefield may be left empty. Read Only Editing of the field is notpermitted, but it may be viewed.

Each user that is allowed to perform repairs must be assigned permissionto do so through the use of class groups. The system administratordefines class group fields that certain user groups may view via theassigned class groups. The user can add and delete class groups.Inadequate class groups cannot be modified, only deleted and recreated(added).

b. Adding Class Groups

To give a user group permission to repair a class, the user performs thefollowing acts:

-   -   From the main menu, the user selects the Class Groups option. A        Classes window appears, listing all the classes defined in the        database.    -   On the folder tree that appears, the user clicks on the “+” next        to Classes to open the Classes folder. Locate under each        specific class are the Fields for that class and any class        Groups that have already been created. The user clicks a “+” or        “−” to expand and contract the tree as needed. The defined Class        Groups are listed under the Groups folder for each class. Each        user group that can repair that document class is listed in the        Groups folder. The Fields folder lists the fields that can be        viewed for repair via Repair GUI.    -   To add a new group to a class, the user highlights the desired        class and clicks the Add Group button. The Add Group for class        xxxx window appears. Only the user groups that the user (as the        Repair GUI user) are a member of will be listed in the User        Group list box. If the user has something other than a class        highlighted, he will receive an error message stating “You must        select a class in order to add a group.”    -   In the Description field, the user enters a description of the        class group that will appear in the tree under Groups.    -   The user uses the User Group list box to select the desired User        Group.    -   For each category (e.g., Optional Editable Group Fields,        Mandatory Editable Group Fields or Read Only Group Fields), the        user selects the fields to be included by highlighting them in        the Class Fields column and clicking the Add Fields button, to        transfer them to the appropriate Group Fields column. If the        user changes his mind about a field, the user clicks the Remove        Fields button to transfer unwanted fields from the applicable        Group Fields column back to the Class Fields column.    -   When finished, the user clicks “OK”.        F. Reconciliation

1. Overview of Reconciliation

Reconciliation provides for manual batch reconciliation of Free Itemsand matching Missing Items into the archive.

Free Items are images scanned during the capture process that the systemis unable to match with any item from the Match Control File (MCF). Theclient site provides MCFs. The MCF is used to enable the system to linkimages and Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) data read from theimages to the respective object's data that is stored in the MCF. TheMCF theoretically should contain the correct information for everyobject captured.

Missing items are those items identified in the client-supplied MatchControl File (MCF) that do not have identified object images (and MICRdata) with which they can be matched. This usually occurs because theimages captured have faulty MICR fields that the system could not read,or the matching image objects were not scanned in.

In one embodiment, reconciliation runs on the client using Java RuntimeEnvironment (JRE), Java Advanced Imaging (JAI), and CORBA. Otherenvironments are possible.

Reconciliation displays each Free Item, along with the most likelymissing items from the Match Control File (MCF) for that batch. When auser chooses (and confirms) the Match Control File row that isappropriate for a free item, the data for the Free Item is modified toequal that Match Control File data. The application then marks thatimage as Matched and that image is immediately available for queryingand other archive functions, such as export and statement print. Inorder for the Missing Item Report, Free Item Report, and MatchStatistics to be updated, the user must also select the “Update MatchReports” option from the UNIX Match Menu.

2. Logging In

The user performs the following acts to login in the Reconciliationapplication:

-   -   The user launches the Reconciliation application. The Login        screen displays.    -   The user types their user name and password. If the        Reconciliation program capability has been assigned to the user        name, then the user will be logged into Reconciliation        successfully. The Batch Selection window displays.

3. Batch Selection Window

The Batch Selection window 2600 (FIG. 26) provides access to threelevels of nested folders. This is a hierarchical window, where the usercan expand and contract the tree structure. A Database Icon contains oneor more Cycle Icons, each of which contains one or more Batch Icons.

The user double clicks a Database Icon 2605 to display its availablecycles. The user double clicks a Cycle Icon 2610 to display itsavailable batches. The user double clicks a Batch Icon to reconcile thatbatch.

The information in parenthesis, located to the right of the batch IDnumber 2615 (0000 in the example in FIG. 26), indicates the number offree items and missing items contained in that batch.

4. View Image Window

The View Image window 2700 (FIG. 27) provides four main areas ofinformation:

TABLE 68 AREA DESCRIPTION Free and Missing Indicates the number of freeitems that are Items Remaining remaining in the batch being reconciled,while Area (2705) reminding the user which database and cycle he isworking in. Images (2710) Provides front and back views of the documentbeing reconciled. Magnification of the image within front and backwindows is available by clicking on the image and dragging.Magnification controls are available in the right click menu, underOptions. Free Item MICR Shows the MICR information at scan/capture timeInformation (2715) for the document, while the questionable item (inthis case ‘Serial’) is displayed on a background. Missing Items Providesa list of the missing items that are nearest Table (2725) matches to thedoubtful value contained in the Free Item MICR Information line. WindowAdjustment The View Image window also contains two sets of (2725) imagewindow adjustments. Clicking and dragging sideways on the border betweenthe two images enlarges one image while reducing the other. Clicking onthe border under both images and dragging it up or down allows the userto increase or decrease the vertical size of both images.

Clicking one of the arrows results in extreme movement of the imageborder in the direction of the arrow clicked. For example, if in theimage above the user clicks the window adjustment arrow that points tothe right, the border will move to the right edge of the applicationwindow, enlarging the front view of the check, while the back of thecheck will be hidden. To view only the back of the check, the user wouldclick the left-pointing arrow.

Matching, deleting, skipping, options, and other controls are availablethrough a “right click” menu. “Right click” anywhere on the screen toaccess this menu.

5. Options Dialog Window

An Options Dialog window is accessed by either “right clicking” on theView Image window. The Options Dialog window is made up of three tabsthat allows the user to adjust the following qualities:

TABLE 69 QUALITY DESCRIPTION Font Used for setting Font type, size, andstyle for fonts used in the Reconciliation application's View Imagewindow. This group of controls also includes a font preview window.Magnifying Glass Used for setting the height and width of the magnifyingglass, and the magnifier's magnification level. This group of controlsalso includes a preview window. Image Check boxes are used forindependently setting whether each front or back image displayed isdisplayed in a ‘fit to window’ format (which can produce stretchedimages), or ‘real view’ format, which may show only a portion of theimage at a time.

6. Setting Font Options

The user performs the following acts to set the font options.

-   -   From the View Image window, the user “right clicks” his mouse        anywhere on the View Image window. The Options Dialog window        2800 displays (FIG. 28).    -   In the Name selection box 2805, the user selects a font name.        The result is shown in the Preview box 2810 at the top.    -   The user clicks and drags the Size slider 2815 to change the        font size. The result is shown in the Preview box 2810.    -   In the Style selection box 2820, the user selects a style for        the font. The result is shown in the Preview box 2810.    -   The user then clicks the “OK” button 2825 when the font Name,        Size and Style is properly set. The Options Dialog window 2800        closes, and the View Image window 2700 now is displayed using        the font Name, Size and Style chosen.

7. Setting Magnifying Glass Options

The user performs the following acts to set the magnifying glassoptions:

-   -   From the View Image window the user “right clicks” his mouse        anywhere on the View Image window 2700. The Options Dialog        window 2800 displays.    -   The user clicks the Magnifying Glass tab. The Magnifying Glass        tab fully displays 2900 (FIG. 29).    -   The user “clicks and drags” the Height slider 2905 to the        magnification to use. The result is shown in the Preview box        2910 at the center.    -   The user “clicks and drags” the Width slider 2915 to the width        of the magnifying glass to use. The result is shown in the        Preview box 2910 at the center.    -   The user “clicks and drags” the Magnification Factor slider 2920        to the magnification level to use. The result is shown in the        Preview box 2910 at the center.    -   The user then clicks the “OK” button 2925 when the font Height,        Width and Magnification Factor is properly set. The Options        Dialog window closes, and the magnifying glass now uses the        height, width and magnification chosen.

8. Setting Image Controls

The user performs the following acts to set the image controls:

-   -   From the View Image window the user “right clicks” his mouse        anywhere on the View Image window 2700. The Options Dialog        window 2800 displays.    -   The user clicks the Image tab near the top. The Image tab 3000        (FIG. 30) fully displays.    -   The user clicks the Front checkbox 3005 to enable or disable Fit        to Window Front Image.    -   The user clicks the Back checkbox 3010 to enable or disable Fit        to Window Back Image.    -   The user clicks the “OK” button 3015 when the image options are        set. The Options Dialog window 2800 closes, and the images are        displayed with the settings you have chosen.

9. Matching Items

The user performs the following acts to match items:

-   -   The user launches the Reconciliation application. The Login        window displays.    -   The user types in their user name and password, and presses the        Enter key. The Batch Selection window 2600 displays.    -   The user clicks in the folder structure to select a single        database name/cycle/batch. The Batch ID is highlighted, and        shows the number of Free Items and Missing Items in that batch        that need reconciling.    -   The user presses enter. The View Image window 2700 displays the        first free item in the selected batch, and a list of entries in        the MCF that most likely correspond to the free item. The field        data that does not match the MCF entry is displayed in pink. Of        course, a different color can be used.    -   The user uses the cursor (arrow) keys to scroll through the        Missing Items Table 2720 until he has highlighted an entry that        matches the image. As each entry is highlighted, any free item        field data that does not match the selected MCF entry is        highlighted in pink.    -   The user presses Enter and selects “match” from a popup menu.        This will force a match between the selected MCF data and the        free item image. A Match Configuration Dialog box displays for        confirmation.    -   The user selects “yes” or “no”. If the user selects “Yes,” the        next free item displays in the View Image window. If the user        selects “No,” the display returns to the same Image window        without having saved any changes.    -   If the user wants to skip the next image without matching, the        user “right clicks” on the screen, and clicks Skip.    -   When finished reconciling, the user closes the application.

10. Deleting Free Items

The user performs the following acts to delete free items.

-   -   In the View Image window, the user “right clicks” anywhere on        the screen. A Right Click menu displays 3100 (FIG. 31).    -   The user selects Delete. The Delete Confirmation Dialog box        displays.    -   The user confirms his request.        G. NetQuery

1. Introduction to NetQuery

a. Overview of the NetQuery Program

NetQuery is a Web-based program that allows a user to query and viewdocument information and images in a Web browser, such as InternetExplorer or Netscape Navigator. The client side of the application usesJava Applets that is embedded in HTML. By entering the address of theEIMA system Web site in the Address bar of the Web browser, the user isable to log on to the Web site and then start NetQuery.

There are three main screens that make up the NetQuery applet: Queryscreen, Result screen, and Image screen. Queries are created in theQuery screen, query results are displayed in the Result screen, andquery documents are displayed in the Image screen.

b. System Requirements

Table 70 lists the hardware and software requirements for one embodimentof a workstation 115 utilizing NetQuery.

TABLE 70 COMPONENT RECOMMENDATION Processor 400 Mhz Pentium II MinimumHard Drive Space 6-10 MB of free hard disk space Recommended RAM 128 MBOperating systems Windows NT, Windows 95 and 98, Unix, Linux ScreenResolution 800 × 600 pixels. For instructions on changing your screenresolution, see Changing Your Screen Resolution. Colors Over 256 WebBrowser Internet Explorer 5.5 or Netscape Navigator 4.08 Plug-ins Java ™2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition including the Java ™ Plug-indownload. For more information about this plug-in, please read Overviewof the Java Plug-in.c. Using NetQuery for the First Time

The operator should log on to the EIMA system Web page before launchingNetQuery. After the operator's login information has been authenticated,the operator has access to NetQuery and other programs that they havepermission to use.

To log on to the EIMA Web site, the operator performs the followingacts:

-   -   Open the Web browser at the client, and navigate to the Login        page of the EIMA system. The EIMA system Login page is displayed        in the Web browser.    -   At the Login screen, the user enters a user name and a user ID.        Assuming the user is a valid user, the Java Plugin is downloaded        and installed at the client and then the EIMA system home page        3200 is displayed in the Web browser as shown in FIG. 32.    -   On the Main Menu, the user selects the Query tab 3205. The        NetQuery hyperlink is loaded in the left pane 3210 of your Web        browser for access by the user.    -   To end a session, the user can log out by clicking Logout 3215        on the menu panel. Logging out returns the user to the Login        page.        d. Overview of the Java Plug-in

To run NetQuery, the Java Plug-in should be installed at the client. TheJava Plug-in is part of the Java 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Editiondownload. The Java Plug-in is an accessory program that allows theclient to run Java applets and JavaBeans components in Internet Exploreror Netscape Navigator.

2. Query Screen

a. Overview of Queries

A query is a request for document items in a particular database cycle.Queries are defined and executed from the Query screen. To retrievespecific document records, the user must set criteria for the query.Criteria is a set of limiting conditions that retrieves a specific setof records. The user can construct a simple or advanced query in theQuery screen. A simple query allows the user to search for documentsusing a comparison operator. An advanced query allows the user to searchfor documents using both comparison and logical operators. The user canalso set criteria on the same field multiple times. When the userexecutes a query, the query request is sent to the server. The serversearches for records in the specified database(s) and then returns onlythose records that meet the criteria. Query results are displayed in theResults screen.

By default, the Query screen does not contain any information. The usercreates the query by performing the following acts:

-   -   Selecting the document type for the query.    -   Selecting the database or databases.    -   Changing the default date range.    -   Typing query criteria in the Query Definition Grid.    -   Executing the query.        b. Overview of the Query Screen

The Query screen 3300 (FIG. 33) opens after the user launches NetQueryfrom the main menu (FIG. 32). The user creates, saves, opens, andexecutes queries from the Query screen. In this screen, the user canalso print a copy of the current settings, access help about theprogram, and navigate to other query sets.

The upper portion 3305 of the Query screen is where the user selects thedocument type, database, and date range for a query. The lower portionof the Query screen contains the Query Definition Grid 3310. Of course,different arrangements are possible.

Table 71 provides a description of the buttons in the Query screen.

TABLE 71 NAME DESCRIPTION Open Query Button Opens an existing queryfile. Save Query Saves a query. Definition Button Advanced Query Changesthe Query screen to Advanced Mode. Style Button Simple Query StyleChanges the Query screen to Simple Mode. Button Print Button Prints acopy of the current settings in the Query screen. The following fieldsare printed: name, query date range; query style; document type; allfields in the Query Definition Grid; and the assigned databases. ResetButton Returns the default settings to all the fields in the Queryscreen. Clicking the Reset button clears your selections and criteriaentries. Help Button Opens a second browser window that containsinformation about NetQuery. Add Button Moves the selected database(s)from the Available Databases list box to the Selected Databases listbox. Databases in the Selected Databases list box will be queried. AddAll Button Moves all databases in the Available Databases list box tothe Selected Databases list box. Databases in the Selected Databaseslist box will be queried. Remove Button Moves the selected database ordatabases from the Selected Databases list box to the Available listbox. Databases in the Available list box will not be queried. Remove AllButton Moves all databases from the Selected Databases list box to theAvailable Databases list box. Databases in the Available list box willnot be queried. Calendar Button Opens a calendar where you can select adate. This button is located next to the From Date and To Date fields.New Query Button Creates a new query set. Clicking this button opens anew Query screen. Close Current Closes the current Query screen withoutDisplay Button saving the query. This button appears greyed out whenthere is only one query set open. Go Button Executes the current queryand retrieves query results. The keyboard shortcut for this button isALT + G. Save Image Button Saves currently displayed image to your localhard drive as a GIF-formatted image file. A Save Image dialog box willbe displayed that permits you to select the location for the GIF file.

These buttons or options are used to navigate between query sets.

TABLE 72 NAME DESCRIPTION View Query Screen Button Switches to the Queryscreen from the Result or Image screen. View Result Screen ButtonSwitches to the Result screen from the Query or Image screen. View ImageScreen Button Switches to the Image screen from the Query or Resultscreen.c. Overview of the Query Definition Grid

The Query Definition Grid 3310 is where the user establishes searchcriteria for a query. For the embodiment shown, the grid is locatedbelow the From Date and To Date text boxes in the Query screen. Each rowin the Query Definition Grid contains a query field where the user canset up your search criteria. The Query Definition Grid contains thefollowing columns:

TABLE 73 COLUMN DESCRIPTION FieldName Contains fields that can bequeried Operators Contains a drop-down list of comparison operatorsValue1 and Value2 Contains search values

When the Query screen is in Advanced mode, an “Op” column appears in theQuery Definition Grid. The “Op” column contains a drop-down list oflogical operators. The user can set criteria on any field in the QueryDefinition Grid. Search criteria is set by selecting a comparisonoperator from the “Op” or Operators columns and then typing a searchvalue in the Value1 and Value2 fields.

d. Overview of Comparison Operators

The user selects a comparison operator in the Query Definition Grid3310. A comparison operator compares two values and then returns a queryresult that is based on the outcome of the comparison. The followingoperators are available from the Operators column in the QueryDefinition Grid:

TABLE 74 OPERATOR DESCRIPTION Equal Retrieves records that contain anexact value in the current field. Greater Than Retrieves records thatare greater than a certain value in the current field. Less ThanRetrieves records that contain less than a certain value in the currentfield. Greater Than or Equal Retrieves records that contain values thatare greater than or equal to a certain value in the current field. LessThan or Equal Retrieves records that contain values that are less thanor equal to a certain value in the current field. Not Equal Retrievesrecords that do not equal a specified value for the current field. LikeRetrieves records that contain a string of values in the current field.For example, to locate all documents that contain the “Mc” prefix in theAccount Name field, use the Like operator to search for these records bytyping Mc in the Value1 cell. Between Retrieves records that containvalues falling between a range of values in a certain field. When theBetween operator is selected, the user needs to type a second value forthe row in the Value2 cell. The Value2 field is only active when theBetween operator is selected.e. Changing the Mode of the Query Screen

The operator can switch the Query screen between Simple mode andAdvanced mode. Simple mode is used to create basic queries and is theQuery screen's default setting. Advanced mode is used to create complexqueries that contain logical statements.

f. Creating a Basic Query

The user performs the following acts to define and then execute a basicquery:

-   -   At the Query screen 3300, the user clicks the Document Type        down-arrow 3315, and selects a document type. The availability        of document types and databases are based on the user permission        settings.    -   In the Available Databases list box 3320, the user activates        (e.g., click on with the pointer) the database that query is        performed within, and then the database is added to the Assigned        Databases list box. The user can select multiple databases.    -   To set a beginning or from date, the user clicks on the calendar        button 3325 next to the From Date text box. A calendar then        opens as a Java applet. The user then clicks a day on the        calendar. The calendar closes and the date is inserted into the        From Date text box.    -   To set an ending or to date, the user clicks the calendar button        next to the To Date text box, and then clicks a day on the        calendar. Alternatively, the user can also type the beginning        and ending dates directly into the From Date and To Date text        boxes. If the user does not select or type a date range,        NetQuery will query all available dates in the selected        databases.    -   Next, the user clicks the Equal cell next to the query field for        which he wants to set criteria. By default, the Equal operator        is assigned to all fields. The user selects a comparison        operator from the drop-down list.    -   The user then clicks the query field's Value1 cell and then        types an appropriate value. The user confirms the entry (e.g.,        by pressing Enter).    -   If needed, the user clicks in the query field's Value2 cell and        then types a second value.    -   After the user is finished setting criteria, he clicks the “Go”        button 3330. The host executes the query and, then, opens and        closes a Status message box, and displays the query results in        the Results screen.        g. Querying Multiple Databases

The user can query several databases at the same time. In oneembodiment, only databases that contain the currently selected documenttype are displayed in the Available Databases list box.

h. Saving a Query

Once the user has defined a query in the Query screen, the user can savethe query settings to a file. Saving a query to a file enables the userto reuse the query definition in future queries.

i. Deleting a Query

The user can delete existing queries that have been saved under a groupof which he is a member. Queries are deleted from an Open QueryDefinition dialog box.

j. Opening an Existing Query

The user can open an existing query file and then execute or modify thequery as needed. Query file availability is based on group membership.

The user performs the following acts to open an existing query file inthe Query screen:

-   -   First, the user clicks the Open Query button 3335. The Open        Query Definition Dialog box 3400 opens as shown in FIG. 34.    -   The user clicks the Group down-arrow 3405. A drop-down list of        groups opens.    -   The user then selects a group name. The group's queries are        displayed in the Available Files list box 3410.    -   Next, the user clicks a query file in the Available Files list        box 3410.    -   In the Open Query Definition dialog box, the user clicks the        “Go” button 3415. The query definition opens in the Query        screen.        k. Printing a Query Definition

The user can print a copy of the current settings in the Query screen.In one embodiment, the following fields are printed: name of the queryfile, query mode-advanced or simple, document type, selected querydatabases, and the query's date range.

The user can adjust the print setup including the orientation (e.g.,print images in portrait or landscape), set the margins, set theresolution, and set the text properties (font, size, etc.).

l. Overview of Advanced Queries

An advanced query is a request that contains one or more logicaloperators in its search criteria. The user can set search criteria onthe same field multiple times in an advanced query. When the Queryscreen is set to Advanced mode, the Op column is available in the QueryDefinition Grid. Clicking a cell in the Op column opens a drop-down listof logical operators.

The user can select the following logical operators for an advancedquery:

TABLE 75 OPERATOR DESCRIPTION OR operator Use the OR operator to test ifone or another argument is true and then return any matching recordsthat contain either arguments. AND operator Use the AND operator to testif all arguments are true and then receive matching records that containthe argument. NOT operator Use the NOT operator to exclude an argumentfrom your query results and then receive only those records that do notcontain the argument. Parenthesis ( ) Use parenthesis to enclose alogical statement in an advanced query. Parentheses affect the orderthat statements in the Query Grid are executed.m. Examples of Advanced Queries

FIGS. 35 shows an advanced query that uses the OR logical operator andthe AND logical operator to search for records. FIG. 36 shows anadvanced query that contains four conditions which use the OR logicaloperator. FIG. 37 shows an advanced query that contains the AND logicaloperator and uses parenthesis to enclose three OR statements.

n. Creating an Advanced Query

The user performs the following acts to define and then execute anadvanced query:

-   -   If the logical operators column is not visible in the Query        Definition Grid, the user clicks the Advanced mode button 3340.        The Query screen switches to Advanced mode.    -   At the Query screen, the user selects or types the appropriate        options from the following fields as needed: document type,        available databases, and From Date and To Date (all of which        were discussed above).    -   In the Query Definition Grid, the user locates the field that he        wants to set criteria for. The user clicks in the Operators        column and selects a comparison operator.    -   Next, in the Value1 cell, the user enters a search value. If the        user selects the Between operator in step 3, the user enters a        second value in the Value2 cell. The search criteria for the        field is typed into the first row of the Query Definition Grid.        This sets the search criteria for the first field.    -   The user can repeat the above step for additional search        criteria. Upon entering the desired criteria, the user can click        the Go button. The query is executed and then the query results        are displayed in the Results screen.

3. Navigating Between Query Sets

a. Overview of Query Sets

A query set is inclusive of the Query, Result, and Image screens andcontains the following information: query definition, result set, andimage set. The user can have multiple query sets open in the samesession. With reference to FIG. 38, the Query Set text box 3800 displaysthe number of the open query set, as well as the total number of querysets. The navigational buttons 3805 to the right and left of the QuerySet text box allows the user to move between query sets. The Query Settext box 3800 and navigational buttons 3805 are located in the Query,Result, and Image screens. For example, if there are three query setsopen, and the second query set is active, the Query Set text box 3800displays “2 of 3.”

4. Result Screen

a. Overview of Query Results

Query results are the matching document records returned by a query.When the user executes a query, any records that match the searchcriteria of the query are displayed in the Result screen 3900 (FIG. 39).In the Result screen 3900, query results are organized into rows. Thecolumn labels at the top of each column identify the column data. Eachrow represents a record in the query results set and each row containsfield data.

The user can perform the following actions on query results: tag itemsfor viewing and print tagged items. The Tag column 3905 is used toselect an item for viewing or printing. Query results are not returnedin the following situations: there is no database selected, the userdoes not have permissions to query items in the selected date range, orthere are no items that match the search criteria.

The user can perform the following tasks in the Results screen: viewitems in the results set, tag items, sort the results set, retrieve itemimages, navigate between query results sets, and print items.

b. Overview of Query Result Grid Menu

The user can “right click” on the results grid, to display the ResultsScreen menu 4000 (FIG. 40). The menu has the following options:

TABLE 76 OPTION DESCRIPTION Configure Query Displays the GridConfiguration panel, which Results Grid allows the user to configure thelook and feel of the results grid. Copy Copies selected rows to theclipboard. This menu option is available when contiguous rows areselected. The grid supports multiple interval row selection, which meansthat you can select a series of rows by dragging the mouse or bypressing the CTRL key and clicking on individual rows. Tag Selected Tagsthe selected rows. This menu option is available Item (s) when one ormore rows are selected. Untag Selected Untags selected rows. This menuoption is available Item (s) when one or more rows are selected. Thisoption will not check if the row is tagged, it will untag the itemsindependent of its current tag. Invert Tags of Inverts the tag state ofthe selected items. Therefore if Selected Item (s) an item is tagged, itwill untag the item. The menu option is available when one or more rowsare selected.

The table below provides a description of the fields and buttons in theResults screen.

TABLE 77 NAME DESCRIPTION Document Type Field The Document Type fielddisplays the type of documents in the results set. Navigational ButtonsMoves through pages of a results set. (Top of Result Screen) Tag AllButton/Untag Selects all of the items in the result set. Button Clickthe button again to deselect tagged items. Sort Button Sorts the resultsin the set. Clicking this button opens the Sort dialog box where you canchange sort fields. Remote Print/Fax Prints or faxes tagged items to aremote printer Button or fax on the UNIX system. Print Button Prints acopy of the tagged items in the Results screen to a local networkprinter. Reset Button Returns the state of Tag column to its previousstate. Help Button Opens a second browser window that containsinformation about using the NetQuery program. New Query Button Starts anew query set. Clicking this button pens a new Query screen. StopRetrieving Interrupts the transfer of query images Results Button toyour screen. Any images that have been downloaded before clicking thisbutton will be displayed in the Image screen. Close Current DisplayCloses the current Result screen and returns Button to the Query screen.Go Button Executes an image query and displays images for tagged itemsin the Image screen. The keyboard shortcut for this button is ALT + G.Status Bar Displays the number of items returned in the results set.c. Tagging Items and Retrieving Images

After a query is executed, matching items are displayed in the Resultscreen. To view images, the user should tag any items that he wants toview. To tag an item, click in the checkbox next to the item. Tagging anitem places a checkmark in the Tag column. After items have been tagged,the user is ready to submit an image query. An image query retrieves thedocuments for all tagged items and displays the images in the Imagescreen. The user should execute a query and receive query results beforeretrieving images.

d. Sorting Query Results

The user can change how items in the results set are sorted. The sortfeature allows the user to organize items by a particular field orfields. A field can be sorted in ascending or descending order. Clickingthe Sort button opens the Sort Result dialog box, where sort fields areselected. The user can sort using one or more fields (e.g., sort using afirst field and then, sort using a second field). Different sort fieldsinclude, but is not limited to, Transit Routing, Account, MasterAccount, Serial, Transaction Code, Amount, Posting Date, DIN, ExceptionCode, and Decision Type.

e. Changing Column Order

For printing or viewing purposes, the user may want to change the orderof columns in the Results screen. The user can rearrange columns byclicking-and-dragging a column label to a new position in the resultslist.

f. Printing Query Results to Local Printer

The user can print a list of the currently tagged items, and/or theitems themselves. In one embodiment, the fields that print under theimage are defined in a Sybase table user settings.

A Print Setup window 4100 (FIG. 41) can be used to control the format ofthe hard copy. The window shown includes an orientation section 4105, atext properties section 4110, a logo section 4115, a margins section4120, a print quality section 4130, and an options section 4140.

Additionally, field information can print under each image. The ‘numberof image info lines’ parameter, defined in user settings, tells thesystem how many fields to print/fax under check images. If thisparameter is not defined in user settings, then the default is 3. Thefields the user chooses to be printed must be a subset of the itemsselected for the results list.

g. Viewing Multiple Query Results

If the user has several query sets open, he can switch between the openquery results.

h. Navigating in the Result Screen

The navigational buttons at the top of the Result screen allow the userto move through the pages of query results for one query set. Thenavigational buttons at the lower-left comer of the Result screen allowsthe user to switch between query sets. Clicking one of these buttonsdisplays the results of the selected query set. Of course, otherlocations for the buttons is possible.

5. Image Screen

a. Overview of the Image Screen

The Image screen 4200 (FIG. 42) displays document images for any itemsthe user has tagged. This screen 4200 opens after the user submits animage query from the Result screen 4000.

The user can perform the following tasks in the Image screen: adjustimage magnification, rotate images on the screen, invert or reverseimage colors, print images to a local network printer or a remoteprinter on the UNIX system, view document information, access help aboutNetQuery, and navigate between query sets.

The table below provides a description of the buttons in the Imagescreen.

TABLE 78 NAME DESCRIPTION Document Type Field The Document Type fielddisplays the type of documents contained in the query set images.Navigational Buttons Use the Image navigational buttons at the top ofthe Image screen to move between images in a query set. Remote Print/FaxPrints or faxes a document to a remote printer Button or fax on the UNIXsystem. Print Button Prints a copy of the currently displayed image to alocal network printer. Add/Remove Displays the Document Informationwindow. Document This window is located at the bottom of the InformationButton Image screen and displays the image's data field information. Usethe Remove Document Information button to close the Document Informationwindow. Reset Button Reloads the current document in the Image screen.Help Button Opens a second browser window that contains informationabout using the NetQuery program. Zoom In Button Increases the size ofthe current image in the Image screen. Zoom Out Button Decreases thesize of the current image in the Image screen. Zoom Box To manuallychange the magnification of an image, double-click in the Zoom box andthen type a magnification percent. Scale To Fit Fits the entire width ofthe image in the Horizontally Button Image screen. Scale To Fit In Fitsthe entire image in the Image screen. Window Button Previous Page ButtonDisplays the previous view of the current item. Next Page ButtonDisplays the next view of the current item. Rotate Left Button Rotatesthe image left 90 degrees. Rotate 180 Degrees Rotates the image 180degrees. Button Rotate Right Button Rotates the image right 90 degrees.Invert Button Reverses the colors of the image. Navigational Buttons SeeQuick Guide to Navigational Buttons. (Below the display area.) CancelButton Interrupts the transfer of images to your computer. Any imagesthat have been downloaded before you click this button will be displayedin the Image screen. New Query Button Creates a new query set. CloseCurrent Closes the Image screen and Display Button returns to the Resultscreen. Go Button The Go button is greyed out and cannot be used in theImage screen.b. Viewing Document Information

The user can view document information for images in the Image screen4200. The document information window 4205 contains the field data forthe current image and is displayed in a separate window at the lower-endof the Image screen 4200. The Document Information window 4205 containstwo rows: The first row consists of field labels; the second rowcontains the corresponding field values for the image.

c. Navigating Between Images In a Query Set

The navigational buttons at the top of the Image screen allow the userto move between and display images in a query set. The Next Item button4210 displays the next image in the query set. The Previous Item button4215 displays the previous image in the query set. The Last Item button4220 displays the last image in the query set. The First Item button4225 displays the first image in the query set.

d. Changing the View of an Image

Most items or images are comprised of more than one view. For example, acheck is made up of both a front view and a back view. Each view of animage is displayed on a separate page in the Image screen. The Nextbutton displays the next view of the image. The Previous button returnsto the previous view of the image.

6. Decision Support

a. Overview of Decision Support

Support adds the capability to NetQuery to manage pay/no pay, payamounts, and other factors for documents with fields that trigger thecapture program's Exception Code generator. Decision Support allows theuser to access items with an Exception Code greater than zero, andchange pay/no pay decisions. The user can then update the database usingthis changed information.

Index fields added to NetQuery, to accommodate Decision Support,include: Exception Codes, Decision Type Codes, New_Pay_Amount, andNew_Serial. These index fields are editable with Decision Support turnedon, and in Image mode, where the user can see the document and thedatabase information at the same time.

(i) Overview of Exception Codes

If an item matches any qualifiers, the item has an Exception Code of 1,or greater. Items that do not match any of the qualifiers have anException Code of 0. The user's policy may be that items will only bereviewed for payment decisions if the items match one of yourqualifiers, such as high dollar amount, stale payment date, invalidsignature, and/or endorsement missing.

b. Overview of Decision Type Codes

Decision Support provides a set of Decision Type codes to accommodatepay/no pay decisions. The number of codes can be expanded to provide foreach institution's particular needs. Decision Type code values areavailable for editing when Decision Support is active, and the Imagescreen is displayed.

Standard check-related Decision Type codes are: pay, post dated, staledated, pay w/new account, pay w/new serial, pay w/new amount, stoppayment, endorsement irregular, signature irregular, check altered, andamounts differ. The user may have additional or different Decision Typecodes available.

c. Using Decision Support

The user performs the following acts to use Decision Support:

-   -   The user logs in to NetQuery and click on the Query tab. The        NetQuery and Decision Support buttons display in the left pane        and the right pane will display the Query screen.    -   The user clicks on the Decision Support button.    -   From Available Databases, the user chooses one of more databases        to be queried.    -   The user selects the query criteria and date range to be used in        the query.    -   The user clicks the “Go” button. The Results screen will        display, showing the results of the query. The Results screen        will display the additional Decision Support Fields, but they        will be blank and will not be accessible. Decision Support        fields are accessible for editing in the Image screen, where the        user can see the document image, and so have the information        needed to make judgements.    -   The user “tags” items of interest and click the View Image        Screen button.    -   The user clicks the “Go” button. After the Image screen appears,        inspect the selected document and change the Decision Support        fields as judgement requires.

Decision Support-specific fields include:

TABLE 79 FIELD DESCRIPTION Exception_Code Indicates a fault was detectedfor the item during the image capture process. Exception Codes higherthan zero (0) indicate problems. The criticality of the problem isindicated by the magnitude of the number (up to 10) assigned to theException Code. Decision_Type Change the Decision Type field to indicatethe reason for altering the item's fields. New_Pay_Amount When theamount field is to be changed, type the new pay amount into this field.New_Serial When the item's serial number was originally recordedincorrectly, type the correct serial number in this field.

-   -   When finished, the user clicks the “Go” button. The decision        support changes will update in the database.    -   The user “views” the changed information.    -   If required, the user can distribute the changed information by        print or fax. The user can distribute the changed information by        tagging desired items in the Results screen, and clicking the        Remote Print/Fax button.

7. Manual Update

a. Overview of Manual Update

Manual Update allows simple manual adjustments to document MICR data.When the user makes manual changes and then clicks the “Go” button, thedatabase is updated with the changes the user has made.

b. Performing Manual Updates

The user performs the following acts to perform a manual update:

-   -   The user logs in to NetQuery and clicks the Query button. The        Manual Update button displays, along with other purchased        functions.    -   The user clicks the Manual Update button. The standard Query        screen displays.    -   The user makes a query and tag items.    -   The user clicks the “Go” button. The images are retrieved, and        displayed. The check data boxes are now editable. If the user        double-clicks on a data box, it will be selected for editing.        The user may select one or more characters individually using        the text tool, which will replace the cursor when the user moves        the cursor over the data box. The user can also double-click        again to select the entire value.    -   When done, the user clicks the “Go” button. The changes you have        made will be saved to the database. The changes will not be        displayed unless the user runs a query again. The changes are        made in the database, but the PC memory will not update until        another query is run.

8. Grid Configuration Panel

a. Overview of Grid Configuration Panel

By “right clicking” the Query screen, Image screen, or the Result screenthe user can access the Grid Configuration panel. The Grid Configurationpanel allows the user to set the display factors discussed below for thespecific display screen.

TABLE 80 OPTION DESCRIPTION Header (Body) font name This drop downcontrol displays all the fonts that are available on the system. Some ofthe fonts that can not be displayed (i.e. Windings, Symbol, Monotype,Marlett, Outlook, Bookshelf) are automatically filtered. It is notpossible to screen all fonts that can not be displayed, therefore it ispossible that you will select a font that won't work. If this occurs trya different font. Header (Body) The font size in points. Allowable fontsize sizes are 9 pt to 20 pt. Header (Body) The font style. Availablefont styles font style are Plain, Italic, and Bold. Colors Pressing anyof the buttons displays the Select a Color dialog (shown below), whichallows you to select the desired color for the desired component. ShowGrid Lines Toggles the grid lines on or off. If Show Grid Lines is off,both the Show Horizontal Lines and Show Vertical Lines options will bedisabled and no lines will be displayed. If Show Grid Lines is on, boththe Show Horizontal Lines and Show Vertical Lines options will beenabled, but only the line(s) selected will display. Cancel Pressing theCancel button cancels all changes.

Clicking the “Go” button applies all your changes and saves all theparameters. When the font is changed, the width of all the columns isrecalculated to be able to display the information. The only grid thatmay not be adjusted optimally is the Query Definition grid. This isbecause the grid is not allowed to grow beyond the bounds of the applet.All other grids are contained in a scroll pane and are allowed to growpast the edge of the applet.

H. Seal Verification

1. Overview

In another application, the object checks are encoded with a “securedseal” that contains specific information (e.g., check value, payee,date, check number, branch name, MICR information, etc.) about a check.When the check is presented at the bank for payment, the scannerincludes an application that deciphers the “secured seal” to allow forverification that the check was properly issued and has not beenaltered. An example application for obtaining information from a seal orwatermark is offered by Signum Technologies. In one specific embodiment,data is encoded and printed as a seal, watermark, diagram, picture,illustration, stamp, figure, or similar item (collectively referred toas a “seal”). Upon scanning the image, the application enlarges the sealand obtains the encoded data using a key. The application then decodesthe obtained data.

In one embodiment, the obtained from the seal is imported into the hostserver 110 as an XML file along with the associated check image. Acharacter recognition engine processes the check image by recognizingthe payee and CAR amount of the check. The recognized results are thenvalidated against the seal along with other check data passed by thescanner. The results are viewed via a document query application (e.g.,NetQuery) and displayed in a standard report. Another embodiment 4900 isschematically shown in FIG. 49.

2. Import Utility Service

a. Description

The import utility service captures the document data and images intothe EIMA system 100 for the recognition process. The import serviceessentially locates the document image files from the network accessibledirectory, places the document image files in a specified location forrecognition, and inserts the corresponding document data into thedatabase for processing. In one embodiment, the document data that isinserted into the database for processing contains the followinginformation:

TABLE 81 INFORMATION DESCRIPTION Document Key This is an optional stringvalue that is used to identify the document on the source system. FormID An integer value that is used to identify the Form definition that isto be used during the recognition process. Image File A string valuethat is the path and filename of the TIF file for the specifieddocument. Zone data For each field of data that is to be recognized froma document, specific zone information is required. The zone dataincludes: zone name, actual, recognized Zone Name The name of thespecific zone as specified in the form definition. (Payee Name, $Amount, Account Number, Check Serial Number, Routing Number). Actual Theactual value of the specific zone. Recognized The recognized value ofthe specific zone. This value will be compared with the actual value fordata validation.b. Importing objects.

To import the objects of interest, the user performs the following acts:

-   -   The user accesses the EIMA System web site and enters the import        application.    -   The user enters his login ID and password. Assuming the        information is correct, the application is provided to the user.    -   The user enters the server name that holds the desired database,        and the database name where the document information is stored.        The Import Process screen 4300 (FIG. 43) is displayed.    -   The user then selects the XML source directory and the Tiff file        source directory. The source and Tiff file directory are the        network accessible directories where the image files and        corresponding image data are located. The user then clicks the        Start button 4305 to start the import process.

Once the import process is initialized, the application is in an “InProcess” mode and the screen displays the XML filename, date and time ofthe import process and the number of documents that are being importedto EIMA system 100. To stop the import process or clear the display, theuser clicks the stop or clear list buttons 4305 or 4310. When all thefiles have been imported to the database, the application continues tocheck the source directory and imports documents that are available fromthat directory. This window can be minimized so the import processapplication runs in the background.

c. Error Handling

(i) Invalid Form ID

An invalid form id error occurs when the form id in the XML file doesnot correspond to the form id defined in the application. When thishappens, an error message is displayed. The user has the option tocontinue with the import process or stop the process. Selecting theformer resumes the import process and the next document in the XML fileis selected for processing. Selecting the latter stops the importprocess.

(ii) Image File Error

An image file error occurs when the image file (Tiff image andassociated XML data) does not exist in the directory. When this happens,an error message is displayed. The user has the option to continue withthe import process or stop the process. Selecting the former resumes theimport process and the next document in the XML file is selected forprocessing. Selecting the latter stops the import process.

(iii) Database transaction error

Network failures, performance, or licensing issues are some incidentsthat can cause a database transaction error to occur. When this happens,the import application raises the specific error and the import processis halted. The user should fix the error before resuming the process.

3. Recognition

a. Description

The Recognition application processes the document images that are readyfor recognition. In one embodiment, the application processes the imageson a FIFO (First In First Out) basis. FIFO is determined by the order ofthe documents imported into the host system 110. Character recognitionis performed on the specified zones on a document and the necessary datais updated in the database.

b. Launching the Recognition Application.

-   -   The user accesses the EIMA System web site and launches the seal        verification application.    -   The user enters his login ID and password. Assuming the        information is correct, the application is provided to the user.    -   The user enters the server name that holds the desired database,        and the database name where the document information is stored.        The Recognition window is displayed.    -   The user clicks the start button to start the recognition        process. The recognition application will continuously poll the        database for images to recognize.

4. Document Query

a. Description

The document query application displays images and data for specificdocuments that have passed or failed the data validation process.Document records that have gone through the recognition process aremarked as either pass or fail depending on the validation of the“recognized” and “actual” data values from the seal. Each specificdocument whether it passes or fails can be viewed in the document queryapplication for a limited period of time (e.g., 15 days prior to thecurrent date).

b. Launching the Document Query application

To launch the document query application, the user performs thefollowing acts:

-   -   The user accesses the EIMA System web site and enters the        Document Query application.    -   The user enters his login ID and password. Assuming the        information is correct, the application is provided to the user.    -   The user enters the server name that holds the desired database,        and the database name where the document information is stored.        A query parameters screen is displayed.    -   The user enters the start and end dates for querying the        document records. The account number, which is optional, can        also be entered if the user wants to query a specific document.        Checking the query exception box will only display items that        have failed the validation process.    -   The user clicks the “Run Query” button 4405. A first image of a        check along with the recognized and seal value results are        displayed for review.        c. Use of “Hot” Keys

Each toolbar on the Query Viewer screen 4500 (FIG. 45) is associatedwith a “hot” key of the user keyboard. The user uses the hot key toreview the document. Of course other keys or other methods can be usedto perform the specialized tasks below.

TABLE 82 KEY DESCRIPTION Previous or Allows the user to cycle throughthe previous or next next arrow document record. (F1 & F2 respectively)Print (F3) Prints the current page or selected pages. Rotate (F4)Rotates the check image clockwise. Zoom In (F5) Magnifies the checkimage. Zoom Out (F6) Minimizes the check image. New Query (F7) Enablesuser to perform a new query. Tab Use your tab key to tab through each ofthe fields in the document. As you tab through a field, that area on thecheck image will be highlighted.

5. Error Viewer

a. Description

The Error Viewer application contains document record(s) resulting froma recognition error. A recognition error occurs when an image that iscorrupted or does not exist in the directory is introduced in the hostsystem 110. When this happens, the document record is flagged and routedto the error viewer application. The user cannot make any corrections ormodifications to the document data but can only save or mark thedocument record for deletion.

6. Launching the Error Viewer Application

To launch the Error Viewer application, the user performs the followingacts:

-   -   The user accesses the EIMA System web site and enters the Error        Viewer application.    -   The user enters his login ID and password. Assuming the        information is correct, the application is provided to the user.    -   The user enters the server name that holds the desired database,        and the database name where the document information is stored.        Document records that have been marked for deletion are deleted        instantaneously from the system and are not reported. Document        records that are saved are reported on the Line Item and        Exception reports as a “character recognition (CR) error”.

7. User Maintenance/Reports

a. Description

The maintenance application provides the system administrator thecapability to add and update the user profile information, as well asview the list of active and inactive users. A user can also generatereports from the maintenance application. The reports display theresults of the document data that have gone through recognition andsubsequent validation in the Atlantis system. There are three basicreports that can be generated from the application.

TABLE 83 REPORT DESCRIPTION Line Displays both pass and fail valuesincluding actual and Item Report recognized data for each item. Itemsthat failed validation are highlighted. Exception Displays failed valuesincluding actual and recognized Report data for each item. GeneralDisplays statistics on the processed documents. Summary Reportb. Launching the User Maintenance Application.

To launch the User Maintenance application, the user performs thefollowing acts:

-   -   The user accesses the EIMA System web site and enters the User        Maintenance application.    -   The user enters his login ID and password. Assuming the        information is correct, the application is provided to the user.    -   The user enters the server name that holds the desired database,        and the database name where the document information is stored.        The User Maintenance screen 4600 (FIG. 46) is displayed. A user        maintenance window 4602 displays a list of active and inactive        users. This information is displayed by status level then by the        user's last name.    -   The user clicks the User Profiles button 4605.

(i) Adding New Users

Only the system administrator has the capability to add new users to thesystem. From the user maintenance window, the user selects the newbutton 4610. The user details window is displayed. The administrator canthen enter the user's first and last name, assign a username andpassword, and Designate the level and status of the user.

(ii) Updating Current Users

To update current users, the user selects a user and clicks the detailsbutton 4615 from the user maintenance window. The user can then updatethe profile information.

c. Reports

From the maintenance window 4600, the user can click on the reportsbutton 4620 to create a report. The reports window 4700 (FIG. 47) isdisplayed to the user. The user can then select a report. In oneembodiment, an Excel file is generated from the list of reports. Theuser can also save the report to a directory. An example report 4800 isshown in FIG. 48. The following items can be indicated in some reports.

TABLE 84 ITEM DESCRIPTION No Seal Indicates that no seal value was foundfor the payee Found name, dollar amount, account number, check serialnumber or routing number. Not available Indicates no MICR value found onthe dollar amount, account number, check serial number or routingnumber. Can also indicate low confidence during recognition. CR ErrorIndicates a recognition processing result that fell below the definedacceptance level.

I. Database Maintenance Plan Application

The Database Maintenance Plan application is used to help an institutionset up the core maintenance tasks that are necessary to ensure thattheir database performs well, is regularly backed up in case of systemfailure, and is checked for inconsistencies. The Database MaintenancePlan application creates a Server job that performs these maintenancetasks automatically at scheduled intervals.

The maintenance tasks that can be scheduled to run automatically are:

-   -   backing up the database and transaction log files and retain        them for a specific period of time,    -   reorganizing the data on the data and index pages by rebuilding        indexes so that future growth is faster (this ensures that        database pages contain an equally distributed amount of data and        free space, which allows future growth to be faster),    -   compressing data files by removing empty database pages, and        updating index statistics to ensure the query optimizer has        up-to-date information regarding the distribution of data values        in the tables (this allows the query optimizer to make better        judgments about the best way to access data because it has more        information about the data stored in the database),    -   performing internal consistency checks of the data and data        pages within the database to ensure that a system or software        problem has not damaged data, and    -   backing up the database and transaction log files (this allows        you to create a history of backups to be used in the event that        you need to restore the database to a time earlier than the last        database backup).

The results generated by the maintenance tasks can be written as areport to a text file, HTML file, or even e-mailed to an administrator.One or more of the tasks performed by the Database Maintenance Planapplication are discussed above in connection with other applications.However, the Database Maintenance Plan application provides anadministrator with a single tool to coordinate all of the tasks.

As can be seen from the above, the invention provides a new, nonobvious,and useful electronic item management and archival system and method ofoperating the same. Various features and advantages of the invention areset forth in the following claims.

1. An electronic item management and archival system for managing and archiving items received from respective financial institutions, each item including at least one of image data, audio data, and video data and associated data relating to the at least one of image data, audio data, and video data, the system comprising: a server configured to be in communication with an item-generation device, the server being configured to receive from the item-generation device the items from the respective financial institutions, at least some of the items including MICR data, the server further configured to archive at least one of the received items to an archive, and retrieve at least one of the archived items from the archive, the server including architecture that supports a pool of threads promoting multiple, independent archive and retrieve operations concurrently; a storage device in communication with the server, the storage device being configured to receive the archived items from the server and store the received items; and an image match device, the image match device being configured to automatically verify capture in the archive of a plurality of images expected for capture, based on a respective match control file supplied by a user, the match control file including a plurality of data fields, automatically perform a first level of image matching, the first level of image matching based on a first set of user defined parameters from the match control file, and automatically perform at least a second level of image matching, the second level of image matching based on a second set of user defined parameters from the match control file, the second set being a subset of the first set, wherein the second level of image matching is only performed on images that were not matched at the first level of image matching, and wherein the image match device is further configured to automatically compare data fields in the match control file with data fields in the archive and to output a match information report based on one of the first level of image matching and the second level of image matching.
 2. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein at least one of the items is image data and associated data relating to the image data, and the item-generation device includes a scanner.
 3. A system as set forth in claim 2 wherein the image data represents an image of a financial document.
 4. A system as set forth in claim 2 wherein the image data represents an image of a check and the associated data includes MICR data.
 5. A system as set forth in claim 2 wherein the image data represents a form.
 6. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein at least one of the items is audio data and associated data relating to the audio data, and the item-generation device includes a microphone.
 7. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein at least one of the items is video data and associated data relating to the video data, and the item-generation device includes a camera.
 8. A system as set forth claim 1 wherein the storage device includes RAID.
 9. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the storage device includes optical storage.
 10. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the storage device includes magnetic storage.
 11. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the magnetic storage includes tape storage.
 12. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the storage device includes a memory chip.
 13. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the system includes a workstation in communication with the server, and wherein the workstation is configured to provide a request to the server, thereby resulting in the server retrieving at least one item of the archived items.
 14. A system as set forth in claim 13 wherein the workstation is selected from the group consisting of a personal computer, a Unix machine, a laptop computer, and a handheld device.
 15. A system as set forth in claim 13 wherein the system includes a second workstation in communication with the server, and wherein the second workstation is configured to provide a request to the server, thereby resulting in the server retrieving at least one item of the archived items.
 16. A system as set forth in claim 15 wherein the pool of threads includes a first thread allowing the server to retrieve at least one item of the archived items in response to the first query, wherein the pool of threads includes a second thread allowing the server to retrieve at least one item of the archived items in response to the second query, and wherein the retrieving of the archived items using the first and second threads occurs concurrently.
 17. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the pool of threads includes a first thread that promotes archiving at least a first received item from the item-generation device, wherein the pool of threads includes a second thread that promotes archiving at least a second received item from the item-generation device, and wherein the archiving of the at least first and second received items occurs independently and concurrently.
 18. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the pool of threads includes a first thread that promotes archiving at least a first received item from the item-generation device, wherein the pool of threads includes a second thread that promotes retrieving at least a first archived item from the archive, and wherein the archiving of the at least first received item occurs independently and concurrently with retrieving at least a first archive item.
 19. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the pool of threads includes a first thread that promotes retrieving at least a first archived item from the archive, wherein the pool of threads includes a second thread that promotes retrieving at least a second archived item from the archive, and wherein the archiving of the at least first and second archived items occurs independently and concurrently.
 20. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the server includes software utilizing a Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), and a processor configured to execute the software to create a bus that supports the pool of threads.
 21. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the image match device is further configured to allow a user to input additional non-MICR data to be stored in the archive.
 22. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the match information report includes a match statistics report.
 23. A method of managing an archive having items received from respective financial institutions, each item including a virtual object and query data associated with the virtual object, each virtual object selected from the group consisting of image data, audio data, and video data, the method comprising: providing a plurality of items, at least some of the items including MICR data; archiving at least one of the provided items to an archive; automatically verifying capture in the archive of a plurality of images expected for capture, based on a respective match control file supplied by a user, the match control file including a plurality of data fields, wherein automatically verifying capture includes automatically comparing data fields in the match control file with data fields in the archive; outputting a match information report based on one of a first level of image matching and a second level of image matching, the first level of image matching based on a first set of user defined parameters from the match control file, the second level of image matching based on a second set of user defined parameters from the match control file, the second set being a subset of the first set, wherein the second level of image matching is only performed on images that were not matched at the first level of image matching; querying the archive; retrieving at least one of the archived items from the archive; repeating one or more of the providing, archiving, querying, and retrieving acts; and structuring a bus that allows two or more of the providing, archiving, querying, retrieving, and repeating acts to occur concurrently.
 24. A method as set forth in claim 23 wherein the archive includes a local archive.
 25. A method as set forth in claim 23 wherein the archive includes a distributed archive.
 26. A method as set forth in claim 23 wherein the act of structuring a bus includes executing software creating one or more servers.
 27. A method as set forth in claim 26 wherein the act of structuring a bus includes creating a bus service that coordinates access to the archive and creating a bus application service that controls communication of applications. 